Diet of margay, Leopardus wiedii, and jaguarundi, Puma yagouaroundi, (Carnivora: Felidae) in Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil

Abstract

This study identifies the food habits of the margay, Leopardus wiedii (Schinz, 1821), and the jaguarundi, Puma yagouaroundi (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilare, 1803), in the Vale do Rio Doce Natural Reserve and in the Sooretama Biological Reserve, Espírito Santo, Brazil. We determined the diet of both species by the analysis of scats. Fecal samples were collected from April 1995 to September 2000 and identified based on the presence of hairs that were ingested during self-grooming. Scats were oven-dried and washed on a sieve, and the screened material was identified using a reference collection. Of the 59 fecal samples examined, 30 were confirmed to be from the margay and nine of them from the jaguarundi. Mammals were the most consumed items in the diet of the margay, occurring in 77% of the fecal samples, followed by birds (53%) and reptiles (20%). Among the mammals consumed, marsupials (Didelphimorphia) were the most common item (66%). In the diet of the jaguarundi, birds were the most consumed items and occurred in 55% of the fecal samples; mammals and reptiles occurred in 41% and in 17% of the fecal samples, respectively. From this work we conclude that the margay and jaguarundi fed mainly upon small vertebrates in the Vale do Rio Doce Natural Reserve and in the Sooretama Biological Reserve. Although sample sizes are therefore insufficient for quantitative comparisons, margays prey more frequently upon arboricolous mammals than jaguarundis, which in turn prey more frequently upon birds and reptiles than margays. This seems to reflect a larger pattern throughout their geographic rang

Diet and habitat use of the endangered Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in northeastern Iran

“…Scat analysis is a common technique in determining diets of terrestrial carnivores (Rajaratnam et al, 2007;Ramesh et al, 2009;Bianchi et al, 2011;Klare et al, 2011). We collected 52 Persian leopard scats between 2009 and 2010.…”

“…Predators hunt in habitats with high prey abundance (Hopcraft et al, 2005) and prey availability (Hebblewhite et al, 2005). Scat analysis is a widely used technique for studying carnivore behavioral ecology (Breuer, 2005;Ott et al, 2007;Bianchi et al, 2011) and provides information on food habits, food competition, niche breadth, and niche overlap among sympatric large carnivores. It also provides data on distribution patterns of prey species (Khorozyan and Malkhasian, 2003).…”

Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) predation by puma (Puma concolor) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…However, in large preserved areas of the Atlantic Forest, the feeding habits of pumas and jaguarundis are very different. Pumas feed mainly on medium-and large-sized prey (> 1 kg) (Brito 2000, Azevedo 2008, Martins et al 2008, while jaguarundis consumes preferentially small vertebrates (< 1 kg) (Bianchi et al 2011, Silva-Pereira et al 2011. In modified areas, this antagonist interaction could have a higher possibility of happening, since pumas include a large percentage of small vertebrates in their diet (Rocha et al 2010, Magioli et al 2014.…”

“…As a generalist mesocarnivore (Oliveira & Cassaro 1996), the jaguarundi consumes basically small vertebrates such as mammals (rodents and marsupials), its main prey, and significative percentages of birds, reptiles and arthropods (Bianchi et al 2011, Silva-Pereira et al 2011, Giordano 2016). Yet, most of the jaguarundi ecology is poorly known (Giordano 2016), and few information is available about species that may act as its predator.…”

Tick and flea infestation in a captive Margay Leopardus wiedii (Schinz, 1821) (Carnivora: Felidae: Felinae) in Peru

“…The Margay, Gato Tigre or Tigrillo Leopardus wiedii, is a small-sized solitary felid which can be found from southern Texas (USA) to northern Uruguay, mainly occupying forest habitats (Bianchi et al 2011). It is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List and its population is considered to be decreasing (Payan et al 2008).…”