DIET OF THE EUROPEAN WILD BOAR (SUS SCROFA) IN A PROTECTED AREA OF ARGENTINA.

BALLARI, SEBASTIAN, JOAQUIN NAVARRO, RICARDO OJEDA

Mar del Plata

Congreso; 2nd World Conference on Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Functioning (BIOLIEF 2011) November 21-24 2011, Mar del Plata; 2011

GRIETA; CONICET; Univ de Mar del Plata; Museo Arg Cs Naturales

The European wild boar (Sus scrofa) is an omnivorous mammal with a wide ecological plasticity, which diet varies greatly between different habitats and geographical regions. This species was introduced in Argentina for hunting in the early twentieth century, and it was first recorded in the National Park El Palmar (Entre Rios) in 1975. This National Park has 84 km2 where many native plant and animal species of great conservation significance are preserved. During the 2009-2010 hunting season, stomach contents of 36 hunted specimens as part of a Control Plan of Exotic Mammals were collected to evaluate the diet of wild boar in this protected area. The diet of wild boar comprised 79% of vegetable matter and 21% of animal matter. Vegetables items consumed were mostly fruits (21%), especially the yatay palm (Syagrus yatay) and leaves (19%). Corn accounted for almost 34%, which is artificially incorporated to the ecosystem as bait in hunting sites. Animal items consumed were mainly birds (19%), especially from the Columbiformes order. On average, corn was the most selected item during the warmer months, while the rest of the plant matter and animal matter was consumed in less proportion. This paper presents the first record of wild boar’s diet in this region, where consumption of animal matter is two to three times higher than previous records from the United States and Spain, respectively