Food habits of puma (Puma concolor) in the Andean areas and the buffer zone of the Tamá National Natural Park, Colombia

Resumen

Although the puma (Puma concolor) is the second largest feline in America and has a wide distribution both on the continent and in Colombia, information on food habits in many areas of the Neotropics is still incomplete. For Colombia this information is still incipient. Here, based on a systematic sampling we documented the feeding habits of the species through a scats analysis collected in the Tama National Natural Park, north of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes. The scats analysis (n = 45) suggests at least 8 species of small to medium mammals as potential prey species for puma in high altitudes, consistent with the feeding patterns reported in other areas. Of these, three species were the most frequent and those who contribute altogether to the 67.87% of the biomass consumed by the species, Nasau nasua, Mazama rufina and Cuniculus taczanowskii. This last species is a new record in the diet for the puma. No large species nor domestic species were recorded as part of the diet of the species for the study area. This work, being the first study carried out in northern of Colombia and the second one on the puma's feeding patterns within a protected area, highlights the importance of knowing even more about these ecological aspects in order to generate better conservation strategies for the species, especially for this top predator of great importance for the ecosystems dynamics and stability in the country.