IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Da Silveira, R.; Ramalho, E.E.; Thorbjarnarson, J.B.; Magnusson, W.E. | |
| Depredation by Jaguars on Caimans and Importance of Reptiles in the Diet of Jaguar | |
| 2010 Journal of Herpetology (44): 418-424 | |
The jaguar (_Panthera onca_) is the largest Neotropical felid and in many parts of its range reptiles form a significant but relatively minor component of its diet. However, in the seasonally flooded varzea forests of the Amazon, terrestrial mammals, which form an important component of jaguar diet in other habitats, are largely absent and jaguars switch to alternative prey, including arboreal mammals and reptiles. In the Mamirau Sustainable Development Reserve in the western Brazilian Amazon, we document predation by jaguars on two species of caiman (_Caiman crocodilus _and _Melanosuchus niger_), which are abundant in this varzea habitat. The smaller _C. crocodilus_ seems to be particularly vulnerable because of its size and tendency to spend more time on land than the larger _M. niger_. Jaguars not only kill and eat caiman but are also a significant predator on eggs of both species. We place our findings into the context of jaguar predation on reptiles by reviewing studies of jaguar diet in a variety of biomes. |
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