While driving today from Iguana Lodge to Puerto Jimenez, I saw a Tayra in the middle of the road. It is a small black animal with a long fluffy tail that is part of the weasel family. It is about the size of a house cat but runs and hops very differently from a cat. While Tayras are somewhat common on the Osa Peninsula they are unusual to see because they of their size and their habitat. What was amazing is that the Tayra stayed in front of me for about 150 meters, running in the middle of the road before it darted off into the field. I was stoked. I wish I had a camera. There have been a number of times I have wished I had a camera on this road.
In fact I have been very lucky along this road. I have seen a Jaguar twice, an ocelot and now a Tayra, all within a kilometer of Iguana Lodge. My friends, Aida Bustamante and Ricardo Moreno, who have been researching the wild cats of the Osa since 2003, are jealous that I have seen a Jaguar. They have yet to see one in the wild, although they have caught many photos of Jaguars over the years with their extensive camera trap program. They are the founders of Yaguar and are inspiring for their research, education and efforts to protect the wild cats of the Osa.
This photo was taken around one of the times I had seen a Jaguar and within in several miles of my sighting. This was taken by a photo trap set by Yaguara, a wild cat research program led by Aida Bustamante and Ricardo Moreno
I have been keeping a log of the sightings on Google Maps.
