English

A tayra

Wikispecies

Alternative forms

• taira

Noun

tayra ‎(plural tayras)

1. A South American omnivore, Eira barbara, allied to the grison, with a long thick tail.
   • 2004, David Rains Wallace, Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution, page 66,

     Cope considered it partly arboreal, as tayras are, and possibly omnivorous as well as herbivorous, yet he thought he saw how it could have evolved into hulking Coryphodon in a relatively short time.

   • 2006, Tom Jackson, Michael Chinery, The New Encyclopedia of American Animals, page 152,

     A few tayras are known to live in areas of tall grass.

     Tayras forage for food on the ground and also in the trees, where their long tail helps them to balance as they move through the branches.

   • 2010, Carlos L. de la Rosa, Claudia C. Nocke, A Guide to the Carnivores of Central America, unnumbered page,

     Tayras can be tamed and make interesting but fairly destructive pets.