# Tayra
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{{for|a basketball player|Tayra Meléndez}}
{{Short description|Genus of carnivores}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Tayra - Male, Brazil (cropped).jpg
| image_caption = A male tayra, Brazil
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = [{{cite iucn |author=Cuarón, A.D. |author2=Reid, F. |author3=Helgen, K. |author4=González-Maya, J.F. |date=2016 |title=''Eira barbara'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T41644A45212151 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41644A45212151.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}]
| status2 = CITES_A3
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = [{{cite Species+ |id=6048 |title=''Eira barbara'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |access-date=24 November 2025}}]
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Eira
| parent_authority = [Hamilton Smith](/source/Charles_Hamilton_Smith), 1842
| species = barbara
| authority = ([Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae))
| range_map = Tayra area.png
| range_map_caption = Tayra range
| synonyms = ''Mustela barbara'' Linnaeus, 1758
}}
The '''tayra''' ('''''Eira barbara''''') is an [omnivorous](/source/omnivore) animal from the [mustelid family](/source/Mustelidae), native to the Americas. It is the [only species](/source/Monotypic_taxon) in the [genus](/source/genus) '''''Eira'''''.
Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' in Honduras, ''irara'' in Brazil, ''san hol'' or ''viejo de monte'' in the [Yucatan Peninsula](/source/Yucatan_Peninsula), and high-woods dog (or historically ''chien bois'') in [Trinidad](/source/Trinidad).[{{cite web |url=http://www2.ine.gob.mx/publicaciones/libros/360/yuc.html |title=Sistema de Publicaciones del INE |access-date=2010-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722225330/http://www2.ine.gob.mx/publicaciones/libros/360/yuc.html |archive-date=2011-07-22 }}] The genus name ''Eira'' is derived from the indigenous name of the animal in Bolivia and Peru, while ''barbara'' means "strange" or "foreign".[
==Description==
Tayras are long, agile [mustelids](/source/Mustelidae), similar in appearance to a large [fisher](/source/Fisher_(animal)) or [marten](/source/marten), but slightly more reminiscent of a sleeker, smaller [wolverine](/source/wolverine). They range from {{convert|56|to|71|cm|abbr=on}} in length, not including their 37- to 46-cm-long (15 to 18 in) bushy tail, and weigh {{convert|2.7|to|7.0|kg|abbr=on}}. Males are larger and slightly more muscular than females. They have short, dark brown to black fur, which is relatively uniform in length and color across the body, limbs, and tail—except for a yellowish or orange "heart"-shaped spot on the chest. Each tayra's chest patch is unique in color, shape and size, and thus may be used by biologists, rescuers and other specialists to identify individuals.][{{cite journal |last1=Villafañe-Trujillo |first1=Álvaro José |last2=López-González |first2=Carlos Alberto |last3=Kolowski |first3=Joseph M. |date=2018-01-24 |title=Throat patch variation in tayra (''Eira barbara'') and the potential for individual identification in the field |journal=Diversity |lang=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=7 |doi=10.3390/d10010007 |bibcode=2018Diver..10....7V |doi-access=free }}] The fur on the head and neck is lighter, typically tan or greyish in colour. [Albino](/source/Albino), [white](/source/Leucism), or beige-yellow individuals are also known, with genetic [color morph](/source/color_morph)s being not nearly as rare in tayras as among other mustelids.[{{cite journal| author = Presley, S.J. | date = 2000 | title = ''Eira barbara'' | journal = Mammalian Species | url=http://www.science.smith.edu/resources/msi/pdfs/636_Eira_barbara.pdf | pages = 1–6 | doi =10.1644/1545-1410(2000)636<0001:eb>2.0.co;2 | volume=636| s2cid = 198968925 }}]
The feet have toes of unequal length with tips that form a strongly curved line when held together. The claws are short and curved, but strong, being adapted for climbing and running rather than digging. The pads of the feet are hairless, but are surrounded by stiff [sensory hairs](/source/whiskers). The head has small, rounded ears, long sensory whiskers, and black eyes with a blue-green shine. Like other [musteloids](/source/Musteloidea), tayras possess [anal scent glands](/source/anal_gland), albeit not nearly as large, nor as pungent in odor, as in other species. Additionally, tayras typically only employ scent-marking for territorial demarcation and identifying other animals in the vicinity, and not as a self-defense tactic, such as with [skunk](/source/skunk)s.[
==Range and habitat==
thumb|Distribution of tayra subspecies.
Tayras are found across most of South America, with the exceptions of [Chile](/source/Chile), [Uruguay](/source/Uruguay), [Argentina](/source/Argentina) (other than the far northern regions) and parts of the Brazilian east coast. They are found across the whole of Central America, where their range begins in [Mexico](/source/Mexico)—as far north as [Tamaulipas](/source/Tamaulipas) and [Veracruz](/source/Veracruz), on the east coast, and south [Sinaloa](/source/Sinaloa) and [Nayarit](/source/Nayarit) on the west coast—and continues south to [Panama](/source/Panama). Tayras are also found on the island of [Trinidad](/source/Trinidad).][{{cite journal | author = Defler, T.R. | date = 1980 | title = Notes on interactions between tayra (''Eira barbara'') and the white-fronted capuchin (''Cebus albifrons'') | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 61 | issue = 1 | page = 156 | doi = 10.2307/1379979| jstor = 1379979 }}] and they also are seen in cultivated areas, tree plantations and farmlands.[
*''E. b. barbara'' (northern [Argentina](/source/Argentina), [Paraguay](/source/Paraguay), western [Bolivia](/source/Bolivia) and central and southern [Brazil](/source/Brazil))
*''E. b. inserta'' ([Guatemala](/source/Guatemala) to central [Costa Rica](/source/Costa_Rica))
*''E. b. madeirensis'' (western [Ecuador](/source/Ecuador) to northern Brazil)
*''E. b. peruana'' (the eastern Andean foothills of [Peru](/source/Peru) and Bolivia)
*''E. b. poliocephala'' (eastern [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela), Trinidad, [the Guianas](/source/the_Guianas) and northeastern Brazil)
*''E. b. senex'' (central [Mexico](/source/Mexico) to northern [Honduras](/source/Honduras))
*''E. b. sinuensis'' ([Panama](/source/Panama) and [Colombia](/source/Colombia) to western Venezuela and northern Ecuador)
==Behaviour and diet==
Tayras are [diurnal](/source/diurnality) animals, although occasionally active during the evening or at night.][ The social behaviour of tayras is not well understood. Assumed solitary, they have been seen in larger groups, presumably of mother and her larger offspring.][{{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=Luke |title=Field Guide to Carnivores of the World, 2nd edition |date=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Wildlife}}] They are opportunistic omnivores, hunting rodents and other small mammals, as well as birds, lizards, other reptiles, and invertebrates, and climbing trees to get fruit and honey.[{{cite journal | author = Galef, B.G.| date = 1976 | title = Predation by the tayra (''Eira barbara'') | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 57 | issue = 4 | pages = 760–761 | doi = 10.2307/1379450|display-authors=etal| jstor = 1379450 }}][{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Eira_barbara/ | title=Eira barbara (Tayra) | website=[Animal Diversity Web](/source/Animal_Diversity_Web) }}] They locate prey primarily by scent, having relatively poor eyesight, and actively chase it once located, rather than stalking or using ambush tactics.[
They are expert climbers, using their long tails for balance. On the ground or on large horizontal tree limbs, they use a bounding gallop when moving at high speeds.][{{cite journal | author = Kavanau, J.L. | date = 1971 | title = Locomotion and activity phasing of some medium-sized mammals | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 52 | issue = 2 | pages = 396–403 | doi = 10.2307/1378681| jstor = 1378681 }}] They can also leap from treetop to treetop when pursued.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} They generally avoid water, but are capable of swimming across rivers when necessary.[
They live in hollow trees, or [burrow](/source/burrow)s in the ground. Individual animals maintain relatively large [home range](/source/home_range)s, with areas up to {{convert|24|km2|abbr=on}} having been recorded. They may travel at least {{convert|6|km|abbr=on}} in a single night.][
An interesting instance of [caching](/source/Hoarding_(animal_behavior)) has been observed among tayras: a tayra will pick unripe green [plantain](/source/Plantain_(cooking))s, which are inedible, and leave them to ripen in a cache, coming back a few days later to consume the softened pulp.][{{cite journal | author = Soley, F.G. & Alvarado-Díaz, I. | date = 8 July 2011 | title = Prospective thinking in a mustelid? Eira barbara (Carnivora) cache unripe fruits to consume them once ripened | journal = Naturwissenschaften | volume = 98 | issue = 8 | pages = 693–698 | doi = 10.1007/s00114-011-0821-0| bibcode = 2011NW.....98..693S | pmid=21739130| s2cid = 6205887 }}]
The tayra was found to be a host of an intestinal [acanthocephala](/source/acanthocephala)n [parasitic worm](/source/parasitic_worm), ''[Pachysentis gethi](/source/Pachysentis_gethi)''.[{{cite journal
|last1 = Machado-Filho
|first1 = D.A.
|language = pt
|trans-title = Revision to the genus ''Prosthenorchis'' Travassos, 1915 (Acanthocephala)
|date = 1950
|title = Revisão do gênero ''Prosthenorchis'' Travassos, 1915 (Acanthocephala)
|url = https://www.scielo.br/j/mioc/a/BG9rPrJjXvJp9Q8ddGtPM4w/?format=pdf&lang=pt
|journal = Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
|volume = 48
|issue =
|pages = 495–545
|doi = 10.1590/S0074-02761950000100020
|pmid = 24539413
|archive-date = 18 June 2022
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220618162939/https://www.scielo.br/j/mioc/a/BG9rPrJjXvJp9Q8ddGtPM4w/?lang=pt&format=pdf
|url-status = live
|doi-access= free
}}]
==Reproduction==
Tayras breed year-round, with the females entering [estrus](/source/estrus) several times each year for 3 to 20 days at a time.[Poglayen-Neuwall, I. "[http://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Zeitschrift-Saeugetierkunde_40_0176-0189.pdf Copulatory behavior, gestation and parturition of the tayra]." Bull. Br. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Zool. 7 (1974): 1-140.] Unlike some other [mustelids](/source/Mustelidae), tayras do not exhibit [embryonic diapause](/source/embryonic_diapause), and gestation lasts from 63 to 67 days. The female gives birth to one to three young, which she cares for alone.[{{cite journal | author = Vaughan, R. | date = 1974 | title = Breeding the tayra (''Eira barbara'') at Antelope Zoo, Lincoln | journal = International Zoo Yearbook | volume = 14 | pages = 120–122 | doi = 10.1111/j.1748-1090.1974.tb00791.x}}]
The young are [altricial](/source/altricial), being born blind and with closed ears, but are already covered in a full coat of black fur; they weigh about {{convert|100|g|abbr=on}} at birth. Their eyes open at 35 to 47 days, and they leave the den shortly thereafter. They begin to take solid food around 70 days of age, and are fully [weaned](/source/weaning) by 100 days. Hunting behaviour begins as early as three months, and the mother initially brings her young wounded or slow prey to practise on as they improve their killing technique. The young are fully grown around 6 months old, and leave their mother to establish their own territory by 10 months.[
==Conservation==
Wild tayra populations are slowly shrinking, especially in Mexico, due to [habitat destruction](/source/habitat_destruction) for agricultural purposes. The species is listed as being of [least concern](/source/least_concern).]