Why this Haunting Trail Camera Image took Social Media by Storm

Most people say..."What is it?" as they stare at the mythical looking cat-like creature.  Certain features look familiar and certain features look oddly out place.  Perhaps it was even photo shopped.

What is it and where did the image originate?

The image is of a not very well known wild cat called a Jaguarundi.  Officially, Puma yagouaroundi, Jaguarundi have been in the news lately when an Argentine teenage girl rescued a pair of feral cats from their road killed mother.   She named them Tito and Dani and they both turned out to be adorable Jaguarundi  kittens.  Read more about Dani and Tito here.

Jaguarundi are just a bit larger than a large domestic house cat.  Their colors can vary from black to gray to tan or buff to an almost red fur coloration.  The Jaguarundi populations appear to be stable in most of their range. One of the reasons is that they lack a desirable pelt.  Their closest relative is the Cougar or Mountain Lion(Puma concolor), and they even share the same genus name (first part of the scientific name). Jaguarundi range from a big part of central and northern South America though out Central America and up into the northern parts of Mexico and into parts of Arizona and Texas.   There are even a few sightings of Jaguarundi in Florida and even  in Alabama.

Frank Fleming, a wildlife enthusiast, from Charleston, South Carolina, discovered the image on one of his trail camera traps while visiting his property near Golfito, Costa Rica in early December 2019.  Originally an eight second video recording, Fleming took this screen shot and posted it on social media.  It received thousands of views, likes and comments within hours. Fleming was stunned.

"The mythical look of this jaguarundi certainly is an alluring component of this image.  Combine that with the fact that not many people are aware that such a wild cat existed, has helped draw attention to it.  I have had people many insist that it is a black panther!  Of course black panthers only exist in the world of Cryptozoology."

"We sporadically see jaguarundis on the trail cameras, so seeing one up close like this was remarkable".  Fleming went on to explain that they actually had three excellent jaguarundi trail camera video clips that he collected on his recent trip.  One was actually involved in chase of a ground dwelling rodent called and Agouti  pronounced, (ah GOO tee)!  The agouti made several loud

Central American Agouti(Dasyprocta punctata) snacks on a Banana.

 bark-like alarm calls as the Jaguarundi gave chase.  This one of the more exciting predator/prey encounters Fleming has seen on his camera traps over the years. "We usually see ocelots with prey animals like mice/rats, opossums, and even a snake. We did have see a Tayra- Sloth encounter back in July that was pretty interesting."  

In addition to agoutis and other small rodents, Jaguarundi will feed on small and large lizards, like iguanas, birds(sometimes chickens), and any other tasty morsels they come across in their vast wanderings.  

Fleming posts many of the trail camera videos on the video sharing platform YouTube.  He has been doing so since 2012 when he captured his first Ocelot on the property on Christmas Eve in 2011. Below is the video featuring the three jaguarundi video clips from early December 2019.  The very first clip features the haunting image of the mysterious Jaguarundi.