Jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor) hunting preferences, and their effect on cattle (Bos taurus), in Pantanal, Brazil

Abstract: In Brazil, jaguars and pumas both constitute threats to cattle farming due to predation on calves. Since both jaguar and puma populations decline, con-flicts with humans should be avoided in order to prevent poaching, which can lead to the number of wild cats in Brazil decreasing further. The aim of this study was to identify in which environments attacks on cattle mainly occur and whether some groups of cattle are more affected than others. With such knowledge, more effective countermeasures might be deployed in order to prevent attacks, leading to better coexistence. During 2017 and 2018, two farms affected by predation were visited. With the assistance of the ranchers, the sites for attacks were analysed with regard to vegetation types, date, moon phase and traits of the calves. The positions of carcasses were docu-mented with GPS acquired from a mobile phone. Age, breed and sex of the killed animals were also documented. The species of the predator was estab-lished by the ranchers based on the type of damage endured by the carcass, footprints and if it had been covered by foliage. The geographical positions of the attack sites were analysed using ArcGIS. Predated calves were up to one year old, only one calf was older, The age group consisting of calves of 180-270 days was more affected than expected at the farm Sao Bento, as few animals in that age range were present on the farm. Pumas took much younger prey than jaguars. Both pumas and jaguars hunted at one of the farms while the other farm only experienced puma attacks. Overall, more at-tacks occurred in open vegetation than close to or in forests. However, both farms disproportionally consist of open vegetation, and hence forests still seem to be important for jaguars and pumas while hunting. There were a number of attacks recorded within 100 m of houses and roads. Moon phase affected predation; there was a higher risk of killing prey at new moon or close to it. Most of the attacks occurred during the dry season, which is probably a result of farm routines rather than an environment effect. No single obvious strategy for protecting livestock can be derived from the findings of this study. In order to develop better predation prevention strategies at farms, it is im-portant to know which cattle that are risk groups and under which circum-stances. There is thus a need for further studies in the research area, as little seems to be known about how, for example, cattle and predators are affected by moon phase.