Gulf Coast Jaguarundi

The Gulf Coast Jaguarundi is a medium-sized cat native to south Texas in USA and the states of Veracruz and San Luis Potosi in northern Mexico. They have, on average, a full body plus tail length of 137 cm. and weigh about 6 kg. Their habitat is the bush chaparral of the Chihuahua Desert, and they are comfortable in this setting.

The Jaguarundi's diet, like most cats, is a carnivorous one. It eats, chiefly, small mammals, birds, and when available, frogs and fish.

The Jaguarundi is endangered by US standards, and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) states that the cat is an Endangered species by its standards.

Sightings of the Jaguarundi have been reported in Florida where it has been confirmed that a writer introduced the species to the state. These sightings have been reported since 1907. In Alabama, sightings have also been reported.

 Gulf Coast News Alabama Jaguarundi Sightings
Gulf Coast Jaguarundi
Florida Jaguarundi

Jaguarundi Range (Green)

Gray Wolves in California- Part 2

The lone wolf of California, OR-7 (a.k.a. Journey), recently stopped his wanderings and settled down in northern Klamath County, Oregon. Video Cameras set up in his vicinity revealed that a black-coated female wolf, its origin unknown, was in the area. OR-7 is in a small den in Rouge River-Siskyou National Forest. As hoped by millions of people, cameras have caught an biologists have confirmed that of June 2014, OR-7 is a father of at least 2 cubs. This is 35.6 miles, or 57.29 kilometers to the border of California (measured from Ft. Dick, CA).

But this success story comes with a twinge. The United States Department of Fish and Wildlife Services, or USDFWS, is invigorated with the birth of these two pups, and may take Gray Wolves of the Federal Endangered Species List, which would make it unprotected by Federal law. This will lead to action from the state governments of the west, who would declare it a game species (Butch Otter, Governor of Idaho, said he wants to be the first to shoot a wolf in his state when they are a game species). USDFWS will make a decision later in the year. For more click the link below.

OR-7: Biologists confirm Oregon Wolf has at least 2 pups

Also, claimed wolf sightings have been on the rise in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. These are by people who have seen coyotes and wolves (in places like Yellowstone Nat. Park, WY, where there are wolves confirmed). For more about this click the link below-

Wolf sighting in the Sierra Nevada?

Mountain Lion

The Mountain Lion is a rare, shy, and elusive.
If yo go from Eagle Rock Picnic Grounds, in Topanga State Park, cross a ravine, and turn forward-left, you will come to a glade. In this glade I have observed cougar scat. Go forward-right and up a hill, you will com to the Simi Planes. In this vast grassland, I have also seen cougar scat and, once, a cougar. You run 2 or 300 yards forward to a cement pathway. You follow this left and it takes you back to where you originated.

Cougars are one of the increasingly rarer mammals in Los Angeles County, and they have two last large refuges: Topanga State Park and Malibu- Simi Wildlife corridor.

Haven to the Topanga Mountain Lion!!!!!!! 

Bobcat

Cascades Bobcat in
North Bend, Washington

The Bobcat is a small, adaptable feline. Its' range is from Southern Canada to Southern Mexico. They are most common during summer frost in the southeast (from Texas and Oklahoma in the west to Florida, north to North Carolina, and through Tennessee to Oklahoma.) I have seen them in suburban Atlanta.

4 subspecies occur in California: The Valley, Desert, Mojave, and the Cascades Bobcats. The Valley Bobcat occurs the whole California west of the Sierra Nevada. The Desert and Mojave have the same basic range, but the Desert Bobcat extends into the south White Mountains and Sierra Nevada (mostly Inyo County).

Here are some articles about Bobcats in California:

Desert Bobcat Attack: Death Valley 

Swans in Southern California

There are two species of Swan in California:the Trumpeter and Tundra Swans. The one we are going to focus on is the Trumpeter Swans.

In the late 1900's, Trumpeters were gone from California. In 2004, a couple Trumpeters were sighted near Santa Barbara. On December 4, 2005, a Trumpeter was sighted near the city of San Fernando. Finally, a Trumpeter was spotted on Piute Ponds, Los Angeles Co. on January 19, 2012.

Links:

Trumpeter Swan: Santa Barabara

Whitetail Deer

The rarest of mammals in California are the Whitetail deer. The rest of the New World, from Northern Canada to South Peru, is the domain of his animal.

The three subspecies are the Columbian, Coues, and Idaho Whitetail Deer. The Idaho Whitetail is the most widespread, ranging from Modoc County to El Dorado County, and a buck shot at Topaz Lake, Mono County, in the 1890's. The Coues was wiped out from the Colorado River Valley in 1984. The Columbian is the rarest of the lot, and doesn't live in California. You can still see Idaho Whitetail, though they are the last of the Whitetails in California.

Whitetail  

Asiatic Cheetah

The Asiatic Cheetah is a subspecies of Cheetah, and was driven to the brink of extinction. Today, only 75-100 Cheetahs live in the un-fragmented areas in western Pakistan and eastern Iran. In the 1940's, the Cheetah was driven out of India. Reintroduction projects are starting in southern Russia. The other locations are in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Predesh, Chhatisgarh, Karnataka, and Kerala in India.

Here are some links about the Asiatic Cheetah:

Asiatic Cheetah