The tayra, also known as wennako, is a member of the weasel family who lives in the tropical forest in burrows in the ground, in hollow trees, or in nests made in tall grass. They are expert climbers who can leap from treetop to treetop, run fast and swim well. They love to eat fruits, but will also hunt for rodents and invertebrates, climbing trees to find eggs and honey. Continue reading to find out more fascinating facts about the tayra.
Quick Facts (iwokrama.org)
Tayra
Eira barbara 
Makushi name: Araiwa
Creole name: Haka
Size: body=75 cm; tail=40 cm; weight=4 kg
Description: Large, long-legged weasel-like animal with a long bushy tail. Body usually blackish with a pale yellow or grey-brown head and neck; sometimes fur entirely straw-yellow (this race is found only in Guyana, intermixed with dark animals). Back long and arched; feet large with strong claws.
Activity: Mainly diurnal, sometimes active at dusk or before dawn; semi-arboreal, traveling along the ground or on horizontal branches in the lower canopy.
Habits: Seen moving rapidly through the trees or on the ground alone or in groups of 2 to 4. This large mustelid travels with a bouncy gait, back and tail arched. If disturbed it usually climbs to escape, moving along branches with great agility. At night it sleeps in burrows or hollow logs. It eats insects, fruit, and vertebrates including lizards, monkeys, and agoutis. It is usually silent, but may snort sharply or spit when disturbed; growls and high-pitched barks are sometimes given.
Habitat: Evergreen and deciduous forest and second growth; also clearings and agricultural areas near forest.
Signs: Five-toed tracks are broad (about 55 mm front or back) with prominent claw marks; seed-filled scat often deposited on fallen logs.
Status: Not yet recorded from Iwokrama Forest.
Features Of The Tayras
- Head – The head has small, rounded ears, long whiskers, and black eyes with a blue-green shine. The fur on the head and neck is much paler, typically tan or greyish in color.
- Fur – They have short, dark brown to black fur which is relatively uniform across the body, limbs, and tail, except for a yellow or orange spot on the chest. Albino or yellowish individuals are also known, and are not as rare among tayras as they are among other mustelids.
- Feet – The feet have toes of unequal length with tips that form a strongly curved line when held together. The pads of the feet are hairless, but are surrounded by stiff sensory hairs.
- Claws – The claws are short and curved, but strong, being adapted for climbing and running rather than digging.
- Length & Weight – They range from 56 to 71 cm (22 to 28 in) in length, not including a 37- to 46-cm-long (15 to 18 in) bushy tail, and weigh 2.7 to 7.0 kg (6.0 to 15.4 lb.). Males are larger, and slightly more muscular, than females.
- Scent Glands – Like most other mustelids, tayras possess anal scent glands, but these are not particularly large, and their secretion is not as pungent as in other species, and is not used in self-defense.
- Throat Patch – The species have a unique throat patch that can be used for individual identification.
Tip: Tayras are long, slender animals with an appearance similar to weasels and martens.
Scientific Classification Of The Tayras
Tayra – Eira Barbara [Scientific name]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Carnivora
- Family: Mustelidae
- Genus: Eira
- Species: E. Barbara
Habitat Of The Tayras
The tayra can be found in the neotropical forests of Central and South America (Guyana).They are also found in Mexico as far north as southern Veracruz, and on the island of Trinidad. They are generally found only in tropical and subtropical forests, although they may cross grasslands at night to move between forest patches, and they also inhabit cultivated plantations and croplands.
The elevation of the tayra’s habitat ranges from the lowlands to about 2000-2400m. Because the tayra is both terrestrial and arboreal, it has been found to live in hollow trees, burrows built by other animals, and occasionally in tall grass.
Diet Of The Tayras
The tayra is omnivorous. It shows a preference for small mammals, the spiny rat in particular, but it will eat whatever is available. Mammals are the most abundant part of the tayra’s diet but it also eats significant amounts of fruit, invertebrates and reptiles, in that order. It has also been shown that the tayra occasionally eats honeycomb when it is available. They locate prey primarily by scent, having relatively poor eyesight, and actively chase it once located, rather than stalking or using ambush tactics. They generally avoid water, but are capable of swimming across rivers when necessary.
Did You Know? An interesting instance of caching/hoarding has been observed among tayras: A tayra will pick unripe green plantains, which are inedible, and leave them to ripen in a cache, coming back a few days later to consume the softened pulp.
Reproduction Of The Tayras
Little is known about the tayra’s reproduction. It is believed that gestation period lasts for about 63-70 days and the female tayra may produce a litter of 2-3 pups per season, between March and July, with each pup weighing about 74-92 grams. Female tayras have four teats which they use to suckle their pups. Males do not stay with the females and the pups during raring. Sexual activities usually occur during the late night period.
Newborns: The young are altricial, being born blind and with closed ears, but are already covered in a full coat of black fur; they weigh about 100 g (3.5 oz) at birth. The newborns open their eyes at about 35-58 days and they nurse for 2-3 months. They begin to take solid food around 70 days of age, and are fully weaned by 100 days. Hunting behavior begins as early as three months, and the mother initially brings her young wounded or slow prey to practice 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.
Tayras In Guyana
Tayras are solitary diurnal animals, although occasionally active during the evening or at night. A tayra may leap for considerable distances, run up rocky cliffs, and bound from branch to branch in the trees. When alarmed, the tayra gives a short, barking call and seeks protection in the nearest tree. Although usually silent, the tayra has been known to give yowls, snarls, or clicks when in groups. 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. Sometimes, they attack domestic animals, such as chickens. A cute and friendly tayra can be seen in the Georgetown’s Zoo.
Article References:
- https://iwokramacanopywalkway.com/mammals/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayra
- https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Eira_barbara/
- https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Eira_barbara%20-%20Tayra.pdf
