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The Tayra (Eira barbara)
A Tayra on the prowl
The tayra (Eira barbara), also known as the Tolomuco or Perico ligero in Central and South America, is an omnivorous animal from the weasel family Mustelidae. It is the only species in the genus Eira.
Tayras have an appearance similar to weasels and martens, growing to a size of about 60 centimetres (cm), not including a 45 cm long bushy tail. They have a long neck, with low-hanging and rounded ears. Most tayras have either dark brown or black fur with a lighter patch on the chest. The fur on its head changes to brown or grey as it ages.Tayras grow to weigh around 5 kilograms (11 pounds), ranging from 2.7 to 7.5 kg (6-16.5 pounds). They have dark muzzles, long claws that are used when they go on their climbing adventures
The tayra, unlike other Mustelidae, does not have delayed implantation. This reproductive strategy in other mustelids delays embryonic development and allows the female to delay birth of offspring until environmental factors are favourable. The female gives birth to two to four altricial, black-coated young.
Reports are that females produce their litter (2 to 3) after gestating for approximately 70 days. Newborns would open the eyes when they are 35 to 58 days old, and nursing occurs for two to three months, again, on the average. Captivity-wise, longevity is up to 18 years. They are diurnal, living in family sets. One impressive thing about them is that they can both be terrestrial and arboreal, which helps them escaping from chasing predators.
Known to live in the tropical forests of Central America and South America and on the island of Trinidad, they eat mainly fruit, but also carrion, small mammals, reptiles, and birds. They live in hollow trees, burrows in the ground, or nests of tall grass. They travel both alone and in groups during both the day and the night. Tayras are expert climbers, and can leap from treetop to treetop when pursued. They can also run fast and swim well. Tayras will eat almost anything, hunting rodents and invertebrates, and climbing trees to get eggs and honey. They are attracted to fruit and can be found raiding orchards.
Tayras are playful and easily tamed. Indigenous people, who often refer to the tayra as “cabeza del viejo”, or old man’s head, due to their wrinkled facial skin, have kept them as household pets to control vermin. However, wild tayra populations are slowly shrinking, especially in Mexico, due to habitat destruction for agricultural purposes. Though the species as a whole is listed as a Least Concern species, the northernmost subspecies, Eira barbara senex, is listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
These weasels had been used by different peoples for rodent-hunting. It has been known that they also feed on sugar fields and poultry, it cannot be said that they do drastic harm to the economic side of a human’s life.
One interesting fact to note about them is that when startled it would produce a barking noise, then it would rush to the refuge of the nearest tree or tall plant.
(Source: Wikipedia – The Free Online Encyclopedia)
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