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Diet adjustments of maned wolves, Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger) (Mammalia, Canidae), subjected to supplemental feeding in a private natural reserve, Southeastern Brazil

2003; Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia; Volume: 20; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s0101-81752003000200026

1806-969X

Joaquim A. Silva, Sônia A. Talamoni,

Zoonotic diseases and public health

From the analysis of 230 scats, the diet of the maned wolves, Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815), was determined in a private natural reserve in southeastern Brazil in which ecotourism activities are developed and the animals are deliberately fed bovine meat. A total of 569 occurrences of food items were recorded, of which 56.8% were of animal origin and 29.1% of vegetal origin. Rodents, insects and birds added up to 35.8% of the occurrences, yet accounted for 68.5% of the total number of preys (277). Insects, however, had practically no importance (0.1%) in the total estimated biomass consumed. Even though the fruit Solanum lycocarpum St.-Hil. is a common food item in the diet of the maned wolf, its occurrence in the diet at the Serra do Caraça Reserve was insignificant, accounting for only 4.8% of the total number of food item occurrences and 3.4% of the total estimated biomass consumption. Food items of anthropic origin and inorganic items (e.g., plastic) represented 14.1% of all occurrences, which shows that the animals are used to the presence of humans. Seasonal variations in consumption were found for S. lycocarpum (c² = 10,09; p < 0,001), for other fruits (c² = 19,73; p < 0,001), and for reptiles (c² = 15,56; p < 0,001), all of which were more frequently eaten during the dry months. There was a significant correlation between the availability of small mammals and their consumption by the maned wolves (r s = 0.59; p = 0.041), yet the same was not observed for the fruits of S. lycocarpum (r s = 0,101; p = 0,754). Our findings stress the need for a better understanding of the effects of additional foods on the natural feeding habits of the maned wolf.