Carcass damage and digested bone from mountain lions (Felis concolor): implications for carcass persistence on landscapes as a function of prey age

Cougars’ key to survival through the Late Pleistocene extinction: insights from dental microwear texture analysis

“…This highly generalized dietary behaviour is consistent with observed dietary behaviour in modern cougars [2]. Specifically, cougars today are both opportunistic predators [2] and scavengers of their own kills from cache sites or abandoned carrion [2,16], more fully consuming carcasses of smaller-to medium-sized prey and/or juveniles [2,17]. Similar dental microwear attributes in rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org Biol.…”

Can Archaeozoology and Taphonomy contribute to knowledge of the feeding habits of the Iberian wolf?

“…As such, in any of the previous cases the presence and analysis of skeletal remains in scats can prove advantageous. Furthermore, as we have previously noted, some authors have observed discrepancies between identified bones and hair content in scats (Mondini and Sebastián Muñoz, 2008;Stiner et al, 2011). Results obtained from the analysis of skeletal remains, can potentially provide us data about prey-species, body size, age groups, skeletal representation and NMI of prey.…”

“…Mondini and Sebastián Muñoz, 2008 consider that any bone fragments that the puma swallowed from mature carcasses were simply too small to be recognized. Stiner et al (2011) noted that in the sample of hair and bones studied, the larger prey and hare were identified from hair only (nevertheless, it should be noted that, unlike the wolf, gnawing damage produced by puma in prey carcasses is comparatively light overall). In the present study, recovery of the hair of consumed prey was not possible; the data presented were obtained from the analysis of the bones.…”

“…The presence of wild boar hair in a scat could suggest that bones may correspond to Sus scrofa. Nevertheless this attribution should not be made automatically because other studies have noted discrepancies between identified bone and identified hair in a sample of scats (Mondini and Sebastián Muñoz, 2008;Stiner et al, 2011).…”

“…Several authors who carried out research on puma (Felis concolor) in South and North America (Mondini and Sebastián Muñoz, 2008;Stiner et al, 2011), noted a discrepancy between identified bones and hair content in the scats. Mondini and Sebastián Muñoz, 2008 consider that any bone fragments that the puma swallowed from mature carcasses were simply too small to be recognized.…”