Experimental Release of Orphaned Wild Felids into a Tropical Rainforest in Southwestern Costa Rica
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Rehabilitation and Release Location Sites and Management
2.2. Pre-Release Preparation
2.3. Release Protocol
2.4. Post-Release Monitoring
3. Results
3.1. Preliminary Wildlife Assessment
3.2. Case 1; Ocelot ♂
3.3. Case 2; Margay ♀
4. Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Biomass Class | Scientific Name | Common Name | Weight Class | Ocelot | Margay |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bird | Patagioenas flavirostris | Red-billed pigeon | 200–500 g | x | |
Quiscalus mexicanus | Great-tailed grackle | 100–200 g | x | x | |
Psittacara finschi | Crimson-fronted parakeet | 100–200 g | x | x | |
Crax rubra | Great curassow | 1–5 kg | x | ||
Ortalis cinereiceps | Grey-headed chachalaca | 500–1000 g | x | x | |
Penelope purpurascens | Crested guan | 1–5 kg | x | ||
Ardea alba | Great egret | 500–1000 g | x | ||
Pitangus sulphuratus | Flycatcher | <100 g | x | ||
Columbina inca | Inca dove | <100 g | x | ||
Momotus lessonii | Lesson’s motmot | <100 g | x | ||
Glaucidium brasilianum | Ferruginous pygmy owl | <100 g | x | ||
Turdus grayi | Clay-colored robin | <100 g | x | ||
Amazona autumnalis | Red-lored amazon | 200–500 g | x | ||
Brotogeri jugularis | Orange-chinned parakeet | <100 g | x | ||
Nyctidromus albicollis | Common Pauraque | <100 g | x | ||
Melanerpes hoffmannii | Hoffmann’s woodpecker | <100 g | x | ||
Tyrannus melancholicus | Tropical kingbird | <100 g | x | ||
Psarocolius montezuma | Montezuma oropendola | 200–500 g | x | ||
Pteroglossus torquatus | collared aracari | 200–500 g | |||
Columba livia | Common pigeons | 200–500 g | x | x | |
Zenaida asiatica | White-winged dove | 100–200 g | x | x | |
Coragyps athratus | Black vulture | 1–5 kg | x | ||
Dendrocygna autumnalis | black-bellied whistling duck | 500–1000 g | x | ||
Anas platyrhynchos | Domestic duck | 1–5 kg | x | ||
Reptile | Trachemys scripta | Pond slider | 200–500 g | x | |
Iguana iguana | Green iguana | 1–5 kg | x | x | |
Mammal | Sciurus variegatoides | Variegated squirrels | 200–500 g | x | x |
Caluromys derbianus | Woolly opossum | 200–500 g | x | x | |
Odocoileus virginianus | White-tailed deer | 1–5 kg | x | ||
Didelphys marsupialis | Common opossum | 1–5 kg | x | x | |
Procyon lotor | Raccoon | 1–5 kg | x | x | |
Nasua narica | Coati | 1–5 kg | x | x | |
Cuniculis paca | Paca | 1–5 kg | x | ||
Dasyprocta puntacta | Agoui | 1–5 kg | x | ||
Cavia porcellus | Guinea pig | 500–1000 g | x | x | |
Rattus rattus | Common rat | 100–200 g | x | x | |
Ratus norvegicus | Brown rat | 200–500 g | x | x | |
Mus musculus | Common mouse | <100 g | x | x |
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Ocelot | Margay | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Percent of Total | Prey Items (n) | Percent of Total | Prey Items (n) | |
Reptile biomass | ||||
200–500 g | — | 0 | 0.9 | 6 |
1–5 kg | 4.5 | 41 | — | 0 |
Bird biomass | ||||
<100 g | — | 0 | 5.2 | 37 |
100–200 g | 5.5 | 50 | 10.4 | 74 |
200–500 g | 12.7 | 115 | 18.5 | 131 |
500–1000 g | 0.3 | 3 | 3.9 | 28 |
1–5 kg | 0.9 | 8 | — | 0 |
Mammal biomass | ||||
<100 g | 25.6 | 232 | 46.3 | 328 |
100–200 g | 29.0 | 263 | 13.0 | 92 |
200–500 g | 16.4 | 149 | 1.8 | 13 |
500–1000 g | 4.1 | 37 | — | 0 |
1–5 kg | 0.9 | 8 | — | 0 |
Ocelot | Margay | |
---|---|---|
Release age (months) | 19 | 22 |
100% Minimum Convex Hull (MCH) (km2) | 44.38 | 3.48 |
Step dispersal distance (km) | 0.484; CI [0.212–0.757] | 1.171; CI [0.379–1.963] |
Tracking days (n) | 54 | 20 |
Locations (n) | 93 | 13 |
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Montalvo, V.H.; Hagnauer, I.; Cruz-Díaz, J.C.; Morera, B.; Lloyd, K.; Sáenz-Bolaños, C.; Fuller, T.K.; Carrillo, E. Experimental Release of Orphaned Wild Felids into a Tropical Rainforest in Southwestern Costa Rica. Vet. Sci. 2022, 9, 468. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9090468
Montalvo VH, Hagnauer I, Cruz-Díaz JC, Morera B, Lloyd K, Sáenz-Bolaños C, Fuller TK, Carrillo E. Experimental Release of Orphaned Wild Felids into a Tropical Rainforest in Southwestern Costa Rica. Veterinary Sciences. 2022; 9(9):468. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9090468
Chicago/Turabian StyleMontalvo, Víctor H., Isabel Hagnauer, Juan C. Cruz-Díaz, Brayan Morera, Kevin Lloyd, Carolina Sáenz-Bolaños, Todd K. Fuller, and Eduardo Carrillo. 2022. "Experimental Release of Orphaned Wild Felids into a Tropical Rainforest in Southwestern Costa Rica" Veterinary Sciences 9, no. 9: 468. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9090468