Jaguar predation on domestic livestock in Belize.

作者：Alan R. Rabinowitz · 年份：1986 · 被引用次数：126 · 研究领域：Wildlife Ecology and Conservation、Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock、Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies

The jaguar (Panthera onca) has been considered a serious predator on domestic animals (Roosevelt 1914, Goldman 1920, Hall and Dalquest 1963, De Almeida 1976, Schaller and Vasconcelos 1978). In the past, ranchers hired men exclusively to hunt jaguar (Guggisberg 1975) and it is still common for bounties to be offered and workers instructed to kill jaguars on sight (Schaller 1980). Yet, jaguar predation on livestock has never been closely examined. Some reports (Leopold 1959, Hall and Dalquest 1963) indicate only certain individuals kill domestic stock and when these jaguars are killed, losses cease, even with other jaguars in the vicinity. Roosevelt (1914) stated that confirmed cattle killers were mostly old males, while Schaller and Crawshaw (1980) showed that, in the Pantanal of Brazil, seemingly healthy adult jaguars feed on livestock as normal prey items. The purpose of this study was to investigate jaguar-livestock interactions and to assist the government of Belize in developing management guidelines for the control of livestock herds.