FOOD HABITS OF A PUMA POPULATION ON MONUMENTO NATURAL BOSQUES PETRIFICADOS, SOUTHERN ARGENTINE PATAGONIA

SONIA C. ZAPATA; MIGUEL ÁNGEL SANTILLÁN; JUAN IGNACIO ZANÓN MARTÍNEZ; ALEJANDRO TRAVAINI; DIEGO PROCOPIO; ROLANDO MARTÍNEZ-PECK

Congreso; 10th International Mammal Congress; 2009

The wide range of the puma (Puma concolor) is generally associated with its opportunistic feeding behavior. We examined the diet of a puma population on a protected area, the Monumento Natural Bosques Petrificados (MNBP), through the analysis of 413 scats collected in both, autumn and spring-summer, from 2003 to 2008. Scats were searched systematically in 4-km2 square plot surveys, then were dried, washed and dissected, and the contents separated and identified. Diet was expressed as the percent frequency of prey in scats and as consumed biomass of main prey types. We did not find significant differences in the diet of puma neither among the same season in different years (G = 3.96, p= 0.91; df = 9 and G = 3.08, p = 0.79; df = 6; for spring-summer and autumn respectively) nor between both seasons (?2 = 2.62, p = 0.45, df = 3). So data were combined to describe puma food habits. Mammals were present in 90% of scats (94% of consumed biomass). The rest of the scats contained birds. Among mammals we identified two species of armadillos, seven of small mammals, and two of small carnivores. However, only two species formed the bulk of the diet: the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and the introduced European hare (Lepus europaeus) (31.8% and 35% of frequency respectively; 58.8% and 28.8% of biomass respectively). Our results agree with the diet of puma in the southernmost part of its distribution, where hares and guanacos are by far the most important prey, and are taken at the level expected. Nevertheless, in MNBP, the smaller densities of hares and guanacos could force puma to diversify its diet and consume alternative prey like armadillos, small mammals and birds, confirming that pumas are generalist predators, able to feed on a wide range of prey.