Study looks at puma prey habits
A study has revealed that certain individual animals focus on alternative prey to the rest of their population, and threaten endangered species in doing so.
The findings may help conservation and wildlife specialists in finding ways to recover numbers of rare species.
The study involved using global positioning system (GPS) technology to identify 433 kill sites of pumas in Patagonia, South America – rather than relying on faecal analysis.
Scientists found that some animals in a population are specialists, choosing to predator a species different to their group's basic prey.
Select pumas were found to be hunting down endangered species, such as huemul, a deer species, and guanaco, a relative of the llama, as well as numerous domestic livestock.
In just one year, a single female puma was found to have killed almost nine per cent of adult sheep, and 26 per cent of bighorn sheep spring lambs within a North American population.
While culling predators to protect endangered species and livestock is controversial, the study has led to the conclusion that only specific predators need be targeted to protect their prey.
This, as the co-authors explain, would allow the two native species to continue to co-exist in the same area.
The study, entitled "The effects of puma prey selection and specialization on less abundant prey in Patagonia", has been published in the Journal of Mammalogy.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is inviting applications from veterinary students to attend a one-week extramural studies (EMS) placement in July 2026.
