IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Garcia, K.P.; Ortiz, J.C.; Vidal, M.; Rau, J.R. | |
| Morphometrics of the Tracks of _Puma concolor_: Is It Possible to Differentiate the Sexes Using Measurements from Captive Animals? | |
| 2010 Zoological Studies (49): 577-582 | |
Studies of felines have attempted to identify individuals by their tracks, since this ability would allow obtaining data such as the presence/absence and abundance of these species, which are difficult to obtain because of their secretive habits. Distinguishing between the sexes is important, because it permits estimation of the sex ratio and the relation of this to population dynamics; however, few studies have attempted to determine the sex of _Puma concolor _using tracks. This study uses linear, angular, area, and geometric morphometrics to correctly classify individuals by sex using tracks from captive animals. The results indicated that males had greater mean values for many variables, except for the area of internal toe, the area of exterior toe, the length of 3rd toe and the length of the 2nd toe. In the geometric analysis, the shape of male tracks was narrower in the middle than that of females. Although no other methods are available that allow identification of individuals by their tracks, this study demonstrates that the use of different tools may provide favorable results. Finally, it will be necessary to increase the sample size of pumas in the wild, which will allow the inference of the population dynamics of this species in Chile and elsewhere. |
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