Abstract

SANCHEZ, Francisco; GOMEZ-VALENCIA, Bibiana; ALVAREZ, Silvia J  and  GOMEZ-LAVERDE, Marcela. FIRST DATA ON THE FOOD HABITS OF THE OCELOT, Leopardus pardalis, IN A COLOMBIAN ANDEAN FOREST. rev.udcaactual.divulg.cient. [online]. 2008, vol.11, n.2, pp.101-107. ISSN 0123-4226.

A preliminary analysis of the feeding habits of the ocelot, Leopardus pardalis, was made based on the examination of seven fecal samples found in a Colombian Andean forest, between 2200 and 2900m of altitude. The ocelot fed mainly on mammals, ˜90% of prey, and also ate birds. Among mammals, those weighing < 400g and > 400g represented ˜52% and 38% of the prey, respectively. The relative frequency of < 400g prey is high when compared with the results from other studies. This might be due to the extinction of larger predators from the study site, which consequently allowed the ocelot to widen its range of prey sizes when it became the largest predator of the forest

Keywords : Andes; Caldas; Carnivora; diet; Felidae.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )