Jaguarundi at the Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park?

Yesterday april 29, 2012 my daughter and I were on the dark hammock loop at approximately 8:45 am and the jaguarundi appeared on the trail in front of us. My daughter was running and I was on my bike so even though we had a camera, we were unable to retrieve it in time. The cat had a long brown body, short darker possibly almost black legs and a small head. I have seen bobcats before in Juno ridge and this cat did not resemble one in its appearance or mannerisms.

It looks a great place to visit and the puma story is charming. I love the cougar. Beautiful cat.

Thank you Micheal for you quick response to my question about the Jaguarundi.

When we first recieved the report I contacted my buddy Chris Kimball a Park Ranger for the State of Florida about the sighting.

Chris told me that some biologists were in the Everglades National Park last year trying to find Jaguarundi's. He could not confirm if the group had seen or tagged any or not.

Thank you for your post about the Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park. The battlefield and it's sister park Riverbend are about 800 acres of environmentally preserved wildland. Both parks are now open to the public daily.

The photo that you posted of the Indan mound and the giant 300+ year old Live Oak Tree was the location of our last Panther encounter. It likes to sit on top of the mound and watch for Wild Turkeys moving across the battlefield. It is not shy at all and is seen quite a bit during the daytime hour. The Seminole's claim that it is a spirit that protects the battlefield and burials.

Thank you once again. Glenn

Hopefully, in time, American visitors will be able to shed some light on this through personal experiences. In the meantime......

According to the premier book on wildcats, "The Wild Cats Of The World" by the Sunquists, the distribution of the jaguarundi at 2002 (the date of publication of the book), did not include Florida or anywhere near it. The nearest location was southern Texas and coastal Mexico.

The IUCN Red List map for 2012 indicates that the range has shrunk further and excludes Texas and even parts of Central America.

The jaguarundi is essentially a wild cat of Central and South America. They can be tamed (domesticated) and can be seen in wet grasslands. They like dense cover and are seen along watercourses and streams.

The swampy areas of the park would seem to be very suitable. Also it is possible that someone kept a domesticated jaguarundi, which has escaped. As we know Americans like to keep wildcats as pets and that includes the puma sometimes.

For me, it seems quite possible that the cat spotted was a jaguarundi for the reasons mentioned. It would have been introduced artificially though as the area is well outside the range of this small wildcat.