Conditioned taste aversion in the grey fox (Pseudalopex griseus), in Southern Argentine Patagonia..

NIELSEN, SIGRID; TRAVAINI, ALEJANDRO; ZAPATA, SONIA; VASSALLO, ALDO IVÁN; PROCOPIO, DIEGO

APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 163 p. 167 - 174

0168-1591

Abstract. Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) develops when an animal associates the taste of a particular food with illness, and avoids consuming that food in subsequent encounters. The CTA acquired will be weaker if the flavour used to generate it is familiar than with a novel flavour, because of Latent Inhibition (LI). We evaluated the way to add an aversion agent (levamisole) to dry pet food bait to generate CTA in Grey foxes. For these purpose we established one Control and three Treatments (with pure levamisole, levamisole masked with resin and levamisole masked with resin after Control). The results found were CTA with pure levamisole and repellence with the levamisole masked with a resin, using pet food baits. Also we found that LI produce a delay in the acquisition of CTA when the food used to make the bait is familiar. Finally, there was high variability between individuals behavior, for example with some foxes taken the bait but not consumed it and left it near the bait station (in some occasions we found it even more than 5 meters from the station). Generate CTA in the grey fox will allow their protection during selective control campaigns against culpeo fox. We presumed that similar results could be achieved with culpeo foxes. This will have to be tested in an area where this species is abundant. Our results suggest that it would be recommendable to incorporate CTA as a management tool of wild populations.