First record of jaguar predation on giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)

Abstract

Top of the food chain predators are often not predated upon. However, even though the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is in that category, the literature mentions many species as potential predators, including the jaguar (Panthera onca). Notwithstanding up until now there has been no registered confirmation of jaguar predation on giant otters. A predation of a jaguar on an adult female giant otter was recorded for the first time during our radio-telemetry study on giant otters in Balbina hydroelectric reservoir in Central Brazilian Amazon. The female had had a transmitter implanted on February 2012 and was killed by a jaguar ninety-four days after the surgery. This giant otter was a solitary specimen, which was captured by a jaguar while asleep in a shelter under a fallen tree trunk on the banks of one of the reservoir’s islands. The solitary pattern found in such individuals combined with the frequent use of shelters, allows predators to access them more easily and may have contributed to the predation observed in this study.

Medium and large-sized mammals of a private protected wetland in the Cerrado-Amazon biological corridor, Brazil

“…However, herein, we have found that jaguar relative frequency is 2.7 times higher than puma relative frequency, which is similar to studies carried out in the Pantanal (Porfirio et al, 2014;Coe, 2018), an area with high density and abundance for jaguar populations (Soisalo and Cavalcanti, 2006) in Brazil. Whereas prey Mammals of a wetland in the Cerrado-Amazon biological corridor populations base is essential to support and influence jaguar population size (Azevedo and Murray, 2007), in this survey, we recorded several large prey consumed by jaguars, such as lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), peccaries (Tayassu pecari and Dicotyles tajacu), capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) (Azevedo and Murray, 2007) and giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) (Ramalheira et al, 2015). Moreover, the region is also home to large populations of black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) and spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus), potential large prey for the jaguar (Marioni et al, 2013).…”

Biological and Conservation Aspects of Otter Mortality: A Review

“…This high percentage of papers about L. lutra mortality underscores the significant interest in and concern for the Eurasian otter's mortality patterns and conservation status. Pteronura brasiliensis, L. feline (South American river otter) [54,55] and L. perspicillata (Smooth-coated otter) [37] were the least represented in the literature, which may point to a need for increased research attention. The low number of studies on both species can be attributed to their status as threatened species, resulting from fewer individuals in the wild.…”

Characterization of shelters of the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis, Mammalia, Carnivora, Mustelidae) in the pantanal wetlands, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil

“…The lower frequency of campsites in comparison to dens may be related to the greater availability of stable banks for building dens. In areas with unstable ravines or without ravines, campsites are used as resting grounds (Lima et al, 2012;Duplaix, 1980) but the otters are potentially vulnerable to attack from sympatric predators, such as the jaguar (Panthera onca) (Linnaeus, 1758) (e.g., Ramalheira et al, 2015), which requires strategies to minimize the risk. In the Pantanal wetlands, campsites are rare in the dry season, but a higher incidence occurs in flood periods, when the banks are inundated, and in the presence of family groups that use these shelters as territorial marks (Schweizer, 1992).…”

“…Although groups of otters can catch and feed on caimans (C. crocodilus) in the Pantanal wetlands, such events are likely associated with the scarcity of food sources (Ribas et al, 2012). In contrast, solitary otters and pups are potentially vulnerable to attacks from other mammals and predatory reptiles (Duplaix, 1980;Laidler, 1984;Ramalheira et al, 2015).…”