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Note on the diet of the jaguar in central Brazil

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Abstract

Diet of the jaguar Panthera onca in the Cerrado, central Brazil, was investigated based on a sample of genetically identified jaguar scats. At least nine prey species were observed in 35 scat samples. Giant anteaters Myrmecophaga tridactyla contributed more than 75 % of biomass to the observed diet. Tapirs Tapirus terrestris and peccaries Tayassu pecari and Pecari tajacu contributed approximately 6 % to jaguar diet each, and small mammals contributed least to the jaguar diet. At 0.121, dietary niche breadth was narrower than reported in most other studies. Due to their physical characteristics and abundance, giant anteaters are likely the most profitable prey for jaguars in Emas National Park, and as an important prey, they should be included in jaguar conservation efforts.

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Acknowledgments

This study received financial support from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, Fundação Monsanto, the Earthwatch Institute, the Memphis Zoo, the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, the Fundación BBVA (project BIOCON 05 – 100/06) and Idea Wild. RS received a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). We thank ICMBio for granting permission to work in ENP and ENP management for logistical support. We thank the kennels Canil Caraíbas and HR for their technical support regarding the scat detector dogs. We are indebted to the entire Jaguar Conservation Fund team, all Earthwatch volunteers and interns, and especially Raphael Almeida, Tiago Boscarato and Grasiela Porfírio for the help with field work and scat analysis. We thank Mirjam Nadjafzadeh for comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jaguar Conservation Fund/Instituto Onça-Pintada, Mineiros, Brazil

    Rahel Sollmann, Mariana Malzoni Furtado, Anah T. A. Jácomo, Natália Mundim Tôrres & Leandro Silveira

  2. Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany

    Rahel Sollmann & Heribert Hofer

  3. College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA

    Julie Betsch

  4. Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, São Paulo, Brazil

    Mariana Malzoni Furtado

  5. Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain

    Francisco Palomares & Severine Roques

  6. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil

    Natália Mundim Tôrres

  7. Department of Biology, University of Washington, 24 Kincaid Hall, Seattle, WA, USA

    Carly Vynne

  8. Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7646, Raleigh, NC, 27695-8003, USA

    Rahel Sollmann

Authors
  1. Rahel Sollmann
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  2. Julie Betsch
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  3. Mariana Malzoni Furtado
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  4. Heribert Hofer
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  5. Anah T. A. Jácomo
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  6. Francisco Palomares
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  7. Severine Roques
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  8. Natália Mundim Tôrres
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  9. Carly Vynne
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  10. Leandro Silveira
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rahel Sollmann.

Additional information

Communicated by C. Gortázar

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Sollmann, R., Betsch, J., Furtado, M.M. et al. Note on the diet of the jaguar in central Brazil. Eur J Wildl Res 59, 445–448 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-013-0708-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-013-0708-9

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