Tayra
(Eira barbara)
Individuals
This release concerned 2 young-adult tayra's. They stayed in the centre for 1 month to complete their quarantine period. They were a brother and sister who were confiscated by the ministry. There is no knowledge about whether they had been kept as a pet or not. At the time of release the male weighed 2 kg and the female 2.7 kg.
Housing and care
The tayras were housed in an enclosure of 6x6x2m during their quarantine period. Half of their cage was blocked off with plastic, so the tayra's could not see the caretakers putting food in and cleaning the cage. They would receive food once a day, this consisted of (wild) fruits and live prey. The prey was put into a tube so the tayras could not see the caretakers supplying them with this food.
Release site
A habitat assessment was executed to see if it was adequate for release. Several water sources have been located in proximity of the release site, fruiting trees were found around the site and tested in their diet. Furthermore, the release site is located at an altitude of 1300m above sea level. Tayra's can be found up to 1500m above sea level. The site is composed of 60% secondary forest and 40% primary forest. This species can live in a disturbed habitat and can live in close proximity to humans. Trap cameras were used to assess which possible predators and competitors for food were present in the area. The main predators of the tayra's within the area are birds of prey, snakes and large cats. Their main competitors are other tayra's and they have been spotted in the release area. Since tayra's are omnivorous, this should not be an issue. Other rescued animals can be found around the release site such as parrots, monkeys, and kinkajous. They can be a cause of stress or danger.
The release site is located within the wildlife rescue centre of Merazonia in Ecuador. This is an area of 100 hectares (250 acres). The rescue centre is located between two national parks (Llanganates National Park and Sangay National Park).
The tayras were taken further away from the camp and hard released from their crates.
Pre-release adaptations
Prior to released their behaviour was evaluated and it was checked whether they could forage and hunt well.
Bloods were taken, a distemper check was required by the ministry. Faecal samples were taken to check for parasites.
Post-release
The tayra's showed up a couple of times around the camp. Whenever they were seen they looked in good condition and well fed, therefore they were chased away. Around 3 months later they were seen by a river close-by, when they saw people they ran away quickly.
Things you would have done differently
Unfortunately at the time there was no bigger enclosure available. That would have been good for them to hide away a lot more. Other than that it would always be great to be able to track the animals, but there were unsufficient funds at the time.
