Tayra
Eira barbara (Linnaeus, 1758)
The tayra (Eira barbara) is a mammal of the order Carnivora, family Mustelidae and subfamily Guloninae. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and cathemeral carnivore with an adult body mass of 3.91 kg, and our sources report adults up to 4.135 kg.
Quick facts about the tayra
Gestation lasts 66.65 days, litters range from 1 to 3 young with 2 as the representative value, and sexual maturity is reached at 1.5 years. Its lifespan is 18 years, with values up to 22.3 years, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 3.91 kg – 4.14 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 18 years – 22.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 63 days – 69 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1 – 3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 23 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the tayra
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the tayra live?
Not recorded
What is the tayra?
The tayra (Eira barbara) is an omnivorous animal from the mustelid family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus Eira.
Tayras are also known as the tolomuco or perico ligero in Central America, motete in Honduras, irara in Brazil, san hol or viejo de monte in the Yucatan Peninsula, and high-woods dog (or historically chien bois) in Trinidad. The genus name Eira is derived from the indigenous name of the animal in Bolivia and Peru, while barbara means "strange" or "foreign".
From the Wikipedia article “Tayra” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tayra&oldid=1382793902), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the tayra endangered?
The tayra is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the tayra classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyMustelidae
- genusEira
- SpeciesEira barbara (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Eira barbara barbara, Eira barbara biologiae, Eira barbara inserta, Eira barbara madeirensis, Eira barbara peruana, Eira barbara poliocephala, Eira barbara senex, Eira barbara senilis, Eira barbara sinuensis, Eira ilya, Galera barbara bimaculata, Galera barbara brunnea, Galictis barbara biologiae, Galictis barbara peruana, Galictis barbara senex, Gulo barbatus, Gulo canescens, Gulo leira, Mustela barbara, Mustela gulina, Mustela sinuensis, Tayra barbara inserta, Tayra barbara irara, Tayra barbara kriegi, Tayra barbara madeirensis, Tayra barbara peruana, Tayra barbara senilis, Tayra barbara tucumana, Viverra poliocephalus
Other names and names in other languages (49)
- EiraEnglish
- Grey-headed tayraEnglish
- Greyheaded tayraEnglish
- Greyheaded tayraEnglish
- High-woods dogEnglish
- تيراArabic
- TolomukoBreton
- HyrareGerman
- Γκριζοκέφαλη ΤαΐραGreek
- IraraoEsperanto
- LumbaSpanish
- AmingoSpanish
- Cabeza de MateSpanish
- Gato NegroSpanish
- Hurón grandeSpanish
- Hurón mayorSpanish
- MeleroSpanish
- PimangoSpanish
- TápiraSpanish
- TolomucoSpanish
- UlamáSpanish
- Viejo de monteSpanish
- Zorra palmicheraSpanish
- Zorro collarejoSpanish
- Zorro uramaSpanish
- Eira barbaraBasque
- Martre à tête griseFrench
- TajraCroatian
- Perico ligeroItalian
- タイラJapanese
- 타이라Korean
- Pilkagalvė mangustaLithuanian
- TregrevlingNorwegian Bokmål
- HiraraPolish
- hirara amerykańskaPolish
- IraraPortuguese
- Irara-amazônicoPortuguese
- Irara-colombianoPortuguese
- Irara-das-guianasPortuguese
- Irara-mesoamericanoPortuguese
- Irara-mexicanoPortuguese
- Irara-peruanoPortuguese
- JaguapéPortuguese
- Papa-melPortuguese
- TairaPortuguese
- PantuQuechua
- Alyasrm
- ТайраUkrainian
- 狐鼬Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the tayra
Other species in the same family Mustelidae.
European badger
Meles meles
Least weasel
Mustela nivalis
Eurasian otter
Lutra lutra
Stoat
Mustela erminea
Wolverine
Gulo gulo
European pine marten
Martes martes
CompareTayra vs European badgerTayra vs Least weaselTayra vs Eurasian otterTayra vs Stoat
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a tayra?
The tayra is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the family Mustelidae. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial carnivore.
How heavy is a tayra?
An adult tayra has a body mass of 3.91 kg, and our sources report adults up to 4.135 kg.
What does a tayra eat?
The tayra is a carnivore.
Is the tayra endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List classifies the tayra as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a tayra live?
The tayra has a lifespan of 18 years, and our sources report values up to 22.3 years.
How many young does a tayra have?
A tayra has 2 young per litter as the representative value, with litters from 1 to 3. Gestation lasts from 63 to 69 days.
What are other names for the tayra?
Other English names for the tayra are Eira, High-woods dog, Greyheaded tayra and Grey-headed tayra.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Tayra (Eira barbara). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tayra
“Tayra (Eira barbara).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/tayra.
@misc{tayra_2026,
title = {Tayra (Eira barbara)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/tayra},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}