The jaguarundi is, “…most often seen in dense cover mixed with openings and edges”.
From Paraguay (in the centre of South America and south of Brazil) to Texas (the far south of America and bordering Mexico) the jaguarundi lives amongst “thickets, scrub, dense brush, or chaparral (vegetation consisting chiefly of tangled shrubs and thorny bushes). The species hunts along the edges of open areas.
A study in 1986 confirmed that the jaguarundi are seen “along streams and watercourses..”.
In Belize radio-collared jaguarundis “used old fields and second-growth forest, preferring areas near streams”.
This cat is found in a wide variety of habitats from sea level to 3,200 meters above sea level. They can been seen in semiarid thorn forest to wet grassland. But they are most commonly seen as described above.
The jaguarundi shares its biome with small animals such as rodents, birds and reptiles upon which it preys. Also in this biome there are rabbits, opossums, armadillos and fish. This cat also preys on these animals. In general terms small mammals such as rodents and arthropods (spiders and insects for example) share the same biome as this cat species. The birds it preys upon spend time foraging on the ground. This cat does much of its hunting in the daytime therefore the animal with whom it shares the biome are active in the daytime.
As for plants the jaguarundi feeds on fruit (11% of faeces contained fruit) and leaves (7%).
Note: a “biome” is not quite the same thing as a “habitat”. But the distinction is rather difficult to grasp. The people asking the question; “What biome does the jaguarundi live in?” may be asking “What habitat does the jaguarundi live in?”
A “biome” is a place where the there is a community of plants and animals in a large habitat such as a forest.
A “habitat” is the area where an animal prefers to live and which can be considered to the home of an animal or plant.
A habitat refers to the local environment…a biome is a larger ecosystem”.
I think that under certain circumstances they can be the same thing. I hope this page helps those searching for an answer to the question “What biome does the jaguarundi live in?”. If not please leave a comment and if needs be I’ll amend the page.
Associated: Jaguarundi range.
It’s surprising to me that this very powerful cat hunts during the day. Not what I would have expected.
I still get confused between big cats. Some look very similar. I think that the distinguishing factor for a jaguarundi may be the ears. It seems that coloring doesn’t play a part.
Well, I think that this wild cat breed is perhaps the most idiosyncratic wild cat or indeed of any cat on the planet. The small head and as you say the small ears are defining features. The head seems to me out of proportion to the rest of the body. But this cat species is really quite small, not being much larger than a domestic cat and therefore it is smaller than the bobcat. That too must help people recognise it.
The idea that cats always hunt at night is mistaken because a lot of the time they are quite flexible as to when they hunt depending upon circumstances including availability of prey in the presence of humans or otherwise.