Jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor) diets in Quintana Roo, Mexico

Abstract

Jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor) diets in Quintana Roo, Mexico. A study was carried out for
\ntwo years in Northwest Quintana Roo, México, using scat analysis to determine the diet and prey preferences of
\npumas and jaguars. Cat species and gender were determined using molecular techniques (rapid classificatory
\nprotocol: polymerise chain reaction, RCP–PCR), and prey abundance was estimated from camera trapping.
\nThe scats contained remains from 16 wild mammal species, but there was no evidence of livestock or other
\ntaxa. The diet breadths of jaguar (0.32) and puma (0.29) indicated a high degree of prey specialization, which
\ncombined with their dietary overlap (Pianka index 0.77) suggested competition between them. However, both
\nfelids showed a preference for red brocket deer Mazama temama, and frequently consumed collared peccaries
\nPecari tajacu. The importance of such large ungulates in the felids' diets is similar to the expected patterns
\nof wild meat consumption in rural areas of the Northern Yucatan Peninsula. Therefore, future conservation
\nmanagement plan initiatives should involve local rural communities in the management of sustainable hunting,
\nconsidering these ungulates are also the felid prey species