Tayra

This creature is not Victoria’s secret

Today’s New York Times Spelling Bee letters:

A, C, D, I, R, Y, and center T (all words must include T)

Merriam-Webster says…

Silly little dictionary! Don’t you know that tayra can’t possibly be a word if the New York Times says it ain’t?

For further fascinating facts, check out the Spelling Bee Master.

What’s your favorite dord* from today’s puzzle?

My Two Cents

What looks like a weasel, talks like a weasel, smells like a weasel, feels like a weasel… but is not a weasel?

A tayra. (The a is silent, by the way.)

The tayra is the only member of its genus, Eira, part of the weasel family, which I discovered today is the largest family of carnivores in the animal kingdom. The weasel family includes weasels, of course, but also badgers, otters, ferrets, minks, and the wolverine.

No, not this one:

The comic book Wolverine is, despite Hugh Jackman’s best efforts, one of the smallest X-men. The real wolverine is actually one of the largest members of the weasel family. Perhaps biggest it’s also known as the “glutton”.

Old man of the forest

That is one of the nicknames of the tayra (Eira barbara) in Spanish. The actual moniker is viejo del monte; while monte can mean both hill and forest, I have a feeling the reference is to the latter.

Our friends at Merriam-Webster tell us that tayra comes from the Portuguese taira and Spanish taira, tayra, from the same word in the indigenous Tupi language. Wikipedia claims the genus name Eira is derived from the indigenous name of the animal in Bolivia and Peru, while barbara means “strange” or “foreign”. (Not sure in what language, since I know it to mean “barbarian” or “brutal” in Spanish.) Wikipedia gives this as the source, but the link won’t open for me. And this one isn’t very helpful. So take that explanation with a grain of salt… or sugar.

Here is the description of tayra given by Encyclopaedia Brittanica — Encyclopedia Brown’s British cousin:

The tayra is short-legged, yet slender and agile, weighing from 2.7 to 7 kg (5.95 to 15.4 pounds). The body, measuring about 60–68 cm (24–27 inches), is covered with coarse but smooth, dark fur… The tayra’s dark skin is covered by brown or black fur that is commonly paler on the head and neck. The throat and chest are often marked with a light-coloured, triangular spot… Common foods include fruits, insects, and small vertebrates as well as eggs and carrion… In their forest habitats, tayras often appear inquisitive, moving their heads in an undulating, snakelike fashion to determine scents or sights. When alarmed, tayras may snort, growl, and spit.

Now, Britannica has a beautiful illustration done by H. Douglas Pratt, but I suspect it’s copyrighted, so I’ll just provide the link here.

Since tayras look vaguely like large ferrets, some people have tried to keep them as pets, only to discover that although relatively “tameable”, the animal is very restless and, well, stinks.

The tayra hangs out mostly in the middle and northern parts of South America, but has been found vacationing in Mexico and even Trinidad. This one was photographed chilling in Cancún.

There are seven recognized subspecies, or different types of tayras. But careful! Don’t confuse that with sub species, which are different types of hero sandwiches.

Tyra for tayras

Tayras are actually cute when they are young.

And look at this one:

They look a lot less cute in this drawing, but that could be because the artist was not very good. Plus, he seemed to have captured one of them focused on its bathroom needs.

Not a great moment in animal illustration history. Audubon is rolling in his grave.

If you’re like me, you may have found out tayras existed only today. (If you’re an expert on tayras, clearly you are not like me. And that’s fine. I don’t judge.) It made me wonder why this weasel family member does not get as much publicity as the, well, the weasel, or the mink, or the badger. I mean, the wolverine has his own effin’ Marvel comic book!

So, being that tayra sounds a lot like Tyra, I figured who better than supermodel Tyra Banks to create some publicity for this cute little carnivore. The slogan would be genius in its simplicity: Tyra for tayras! I have everything planned out: the website, media campaigns, interviews, merchandise.

Now I only need to get Ms. Banks on board. Unfortunately she is not on Medium. But since Silly Little Dictionary! now has a twitter account, I’ll try to tag her there. Surely she’ll be excited about this new project!

Yeah, let’s not hold our breath.

But if Tyra, by some miracle, accepts the challenge… I’ll be sure to let you know.

And who knows. Maybe Tyra for tayras is what it would take for the editors of the Spelling Bee to stop thinking that tayra is a dord.*

You can check out my previous entry on another dord* here:

*What the heck is a dord, you ask? Here’s the answer: