IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Rodgers, T.W.; Giacalone, J.; Heske, E.J.; Pawlikowski, N.C.; Schooley, R.L. | |
| Communal latrines act as potentially important communication centers in ocelots | |
| 2015 Mammalian Biology (80): 380-384 | |
In solitary carnivores, scent marking is an important form of communication among individuals. We examined the extent of potential communication among ocelots (_Leopardus pardalis_) at communal latrine sites at the population level. We used a combination of camera-trapping and noninvasive genetics to monitor 18 ocelot latrines in an isolated population on Barro Colorado Island in the Republic of Panama. We found that 72% of monitored ocelot latrines were used by multiple individuals of both sexes, with a mean of 3.0 individuals (range 1-9) per year using each latrine. One highly used latrine was visited by 17 different individuals including 11 males and 6 females over the course of 6 years. Based on visits to the same latrine within 10 days of one another, potential for scent communication among individuals was high. Males had the potential to communicate with a mean of 5.9 other individuals (range 2-14), and females had the potential to communicate with a mean of 4.5 other individuals (range 3-12) at latrines. We conclude that communal latrines are important centers of scent communication for _Leopardus pardalis_. |
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