Tayra
Species Data
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Scientific Name: Eira barbara
IUCN Red List status: Least Concern
Description
The Tayra is a mustelid from Central and South America, it is related to weasels but stands alone in the genus Eira. Individuals are able to be distinguished from one-another by the shape and size of the white patch of fur on their throats.
Behaviour
The Tayra has a very broad omnivorous diet, eating fruit, insects, honey, carrion and small vertebrates like rodents and lizards. Its lifestyle can vary from diurnal to crepuscular, individuals are known to travel across vast areas and can hunt and scavenge both on the forest floor and in trees.
Habitat
The Tayra is adapted to be able to survive in a plethora of environments stretching from central Mexico to southern Brazil, including tropical and subtropical forests, cloud forests and dry woodland, and can also occasionally survive in areas developed by humans such as agricultural land and some more urban environments, though this is not always the outcome.
Threats and Conservation
Although the IUCN has classified the Tayra as being of Least Concern, its numbers have been noted to have a decreasing trend due to agricultural expansion and destruction of the forest cover that they require.
