CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

CHELONOIDIS CHILENSIS (Chaco Tortoise). PREDATION. Chelonoidis chilensis, is the southernmost continental tortoise in the world (Cei. 1986, Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy). It is distributed from southwestern Bolivia and western Paraguay to northern Chubut, Argentina (Richard. 1991, Buenos Aires AR. LOLA). This species is threatened by reduced availability of suitable habitat due to agricultural expansion, leading to the destruction and fragmentation of the Espinal and Chaco forest, which are replaced by crops or ranching. Other threats include competition with sheep and goats (Prado et al. 2012, Cuadernos de comunicaciones Herpetológicas, AHA: 375?388); soil compaction by livestock (degrading tortoise nesting sites) (Waller and Micucci 1987, Proceedings: Conservation, Restoration and Management of Tortoises and Turtles?An International Conference. New York Turtle and Tortoise Society, New York); fires set to promote the regrowth of pasture (Richard 1999. L.O.L.A. Nº 10), and the illegal pet trade, as this species is the most traded native reptile in Argentina. This species is included on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and is considered to have a conservation status of Vulnerable by the IUCN (The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. . Downloaded on 07 August 2014.). During the juvenile stage, this species is especially vulnerable to attack by natural predators such as ferrets, skunks, small cats, Tupinambis lizards, and many species of birds. Adults have fewer natural predators, which include foxes, cougars, and crowned eagles (Chebez 2008, Fauna Argentina Amenazada. 1: 219 ?231). Here we report evidence of predation of C. chilensis by wild boars (Sus scrofa) in a natural environment located 45 Km north of San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro Province, Argentina (40.396°S, 64.750°W; datum WGS84, elev. 125 m). Since the introduction of the wild boar in La Pampa province in the early twentieth century (Jaksic et al. 2002. Biological Invasions 4: 157 ?173), the wild boar population has expanded and become established in a variety of environments, and currently inhabits at least nine provinces of Argentina. In the study site, the presence of wild boar increased since 1972, with the construction of the Pomona Channel (per obs.), built to supply of drinking water to San Antonio Oeste. Until that time, adult tortoise shells found were always intact. In contrast, since wild boar increased at the site, we now find shells of adult tortoises with the plastron opened indicative of attack by wild boars. We can include the wild boar as another potential threat to the Chaco Tortoise and urge that the presence of wild boar be considered during the development of strategies and priority actions to conserve this vulnerable species.