IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Bonacic, C.; Galvez, N.; Amar, F.; Laker, J.; Murphy, T.; MacDonald, D.W. | |
| Puma and Farmer Interactions: a Multi-Scale Approach in Three Eco-Regions of the Chilean Andes | |
| 2007 Conference Proceeding | |
Pumas (_Puma concolor_) prey on livestock along the west side of the Andes of Chile. The resulting conflict between pumas and livestock owners, promotes the hunting of this protected species. We report ongoing research using camera traps, scat analyses and interviews of farmers in three different eco-regions, the Altiplano (18 SL), Mediterranean (36 LS) and Temperate Rainforest (38 LS). Stakeholders and livestock owners in each of these different study areas belong to three distinct ethnic groups (i.e. respectively, the Aymara, Mapuches and descendents of European colonists). In the temperate rainforest, camera sites were located in a large fragment >5 km from each other and at different altitudes (i.e. 400, 800 and 1000 masl). Camera trapping days ranged from 48 ñ 2.1 to 75 ñ 32 at each camera site with an average interval between photos of 31.3 ñ 14.6 days. A total of 147 photographic captures were registered. Pumas (7% of total pictures) were detected mainly in large fragments between 4:00 and 7:00 am during winter of 2006. In addition to pumas, the cameras captured photographs of five native mammal species distributed in two orders, four Carnivora and one Artiodactyla. Also, feral dogs (18.4% all pictures) and three exotic species were detected, including wild boar (_Sus scrofa_), brown hare (_Lepus capensis_) and European rabbit (_Oryctolagus cuniculus_). In the Mediterranean ecosystem, puma diet mainly consists of hares (96% of faces content) followed by small percentages of sheep (5.3%) and foals (3.5%) (n=120 scats). Current pilot work in the altiplano region includes workshops with school children about puma conservation and other species. Interviews of farmers are ongoing in all three regions and will allow comparisons between the different ethnic groups. Project funded by The Darwin initiative, CONAMA & The Wildlife Trust Alliance. |
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