WildEarth Sues Interior Over Fate of Jaguarundi

HOUSTON (CN) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar refuses to protect two subspecies of jaguarondi, a wildcat whose habitat is being destroyed by brush clearing, farming and urbanization in South Texas, the WildEarth Guardians claim in Federal Court.

WildEarth Guardians say Salazar violated the Endangered Species Act by refusing to create or implement a recovery plan for the Gulf Coast jaguarondi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi cacomitli) and the Sinaloan jaguarondi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi tolteca).

The shy, beautiful little cats are only slightly bigger than house cats, and prey to becoming roadkill. Plaintiffs say the survival of the two subspecies is at risk from human activities. They demand that the secretary prepare and implement a recovery plan "by a reasonable date certain."

Plaintiffs are represented by Peter Thompson with Thompson & Reilley.

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