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Rare South American cats jaguarundi find home at Yekaterinburg’s Zoo

In Russia, these animals can be seen only in Moscow’s and Novosibirsk’s Zoo

YEKATERINBURG, August 11. /TASS/. The Zoo in Russia’s Urals city of Yekaterinburg, one of the few in the world, can now boast of having a pair of rare cat-like animals, jaguarundi.

The Zoo’s press service said on Friday the animals had been brought from the Novosibirsk Zoo. "We have never had such animals. In Russia, they can be seen only in Moscow’s and Novosibirsk’s Zoo, and in the world - in the Czech Republic’s Brno and Prague," the press service said.

"They are very smart and quiet animals and pay no attention to the Zoo attendants. So far, the cats are separated by a fence, but can see each other through it. They will be coupled as soon as they feel at home," the press service said.

According to the Zoo attendants, the exotic cats’ diet includes meat, figs, bananas, dates, grapes and pears.

Native to Central and South America, the jaguarundi is a small wild cat, a little bigger than a house cat, with a slender, elongated body, short legs, a long tail and a small flattened head with short rounded ears. It is a very vocal cat with as many as 13 separate vocalizations. It is a good climber and swimmer. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2002.