Understanding livestock predation by big cats: Vulnerability of farms to jaguar and puma predation in the Green Corridor of Argentina-Brazil

FOSTER, VÂNIA; DE ANGELO, C.; BOULHOSA, R.L.P.; CARIOLA, LUCÍA; CRUZ, MARÍA PAULA; KOTZ, ALINE; MARTÍNEZ PARDO, JULIA; ZURANO, JUAN PABLO; REGINATO, THIAGO; BARROS, YARA; PAVIOLO, A.

Puerto Iguazú

Jornada; XXXIII Jornadas Argentinas de Mastozoología; 2022

Sociedad Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamíferos

In several regions of Latin America, big cats have a relevant impact on cattle herds. For this reason, it is important to understand the causes of livestock/feline conflicts and to identify the inherent conditions that make farms vulnerable to predation for designing and implementing effective prevention and mitigation. Our goal was to identify which features of cattle farms modulate with the probabilities of big cats’ predation of domestic animals in the North of the Green Corridor. We performed 242 interviews in 52 communities, 132 in Argentina and 110 in Brazil. For the analysis, we considered only records of livestock predation by big cats. Attacks by other predators were excluded. We characterized the farms where predation occurred through the property size, herd size, cattle management, habitat suitability for big cats, distance to water, distance to continuous forest and native prey occupancy. To test the effect of the vulnerability factors in the herds’ predation by big cats, we used Generalized Linear Models with binomial distribution. Livestock losses were recorded in 79 farms, but only in 46 farms, big cats were confirmed as being the predators. Within these properties, 235 predation cases were reported – 129 by jaguar and 106 by puma. The number of livestock predated ranged from 1 to 30 animals. Attacks occurred mainlyin large farms (OR=2,46, 95%CI=1,54-4,57) with poor cattle management (OR=0,83, 95%CI=0,71-0,96). Cattle attacks were positively associated with high native prey occupancy (OR=2,68, 95%CI=1,64-4,54), but only in farms with poor habitat conditions for big cats. When theseconditions improved, attack probabilities were higher in farms of low prey occupancy (interaction OR=0,51, 95%CI=0,31-0,79). These preliminary results suggest that farms’ vulnerability to big cats’ predation is higher when management practices are not adequate. Focusing on implementinggood management practices associated with anti-predator devices can prevent livestock predation and mitigate conflicts.Financiamiento: WWF-Brasil, National Geographic Society, Ron Magill Conservation Endowment, Beauval nature, Instituto Conhecer para Conservar, Helisul Aviação, Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina.