In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a Tayra in 6 easy steps - great for kids and novice artists.
The images above represent how your finished drawing is going to look and the steps involved.
Below are the individual steps - you can click on each one for a High Resolution printable PDF version.
At the bottom you can read some interesting facts about the Tayra.
Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.
How to Draw a Tayra - Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Let's start with the head of our tayra. It is rounded on top, bumps out for the nose, and curves in again for the neck.
Step 2: Now, add the face. Draw an almond shaped eye. Make two half circles for the ear and connect them at the bottom. Give it whiskers.
Step 3: Draw the back by making a long curved line. The tayra is part of the weasel family!
Step 4: Next, make the back legs. Leave room for the tail. They are wide at the top and get smaller. Put toes on the feet. Make a line from the front hind leg toward the middle to make the belly.
Step 5: Then add the front legs. They are wide at the top, too, with strong muscles used to climb and run. Connect the legs to the chest, and then connect that to the neck.
Step 6: Last, make the tail. It is thick and long, used for balance when it is climbing tall trees. You are finished! If you want to color your tayra, it has shaggy dark fur.
Interesting Facts about the Tayra
The tayra (Eira barbata) is a weasel that lives in the tropical forests of Central and Southern America and Trinidad.
Did you know?
- Tayras can grow to about a foot long, not including their tail.
- They eat mostly rodents, but they will also eat other small mammals, birds, fruits and dead animals.
- Playful and easily tamed, people native to Central and South America would often keep tayras as pets, especially to help control household pets.
- Populations of tayras have been shrinking due to habitat destruction, however they are still not considered endangered.
- These weasels have long claws, and are usually dark brown with paler heads.
- There is very little known about how tayras reproduce, although it is believed they have litters that are 2 or 3. Not much is known about how family units are formed.
Lesson plan note: Although tayras have been kept as pets, not a lot is known about their behavior in the wild. Discuss how we can still know so little about this animal even though it has been kept as a pet, and how its behavior would differ as a pet than it could in the wild.
How to Draw a Tayra – Step-by-Step Tutorial