What’s on the menu? A presumed attack of Andean bear on a Mountain tapir at the Puracé National Natural Park, Colombia

By

Pisso-Florez, Gustavo Adolfo
Gómez-Lora, Ignacio
Vela-Vargas, I. Mauricio
Pizo, Héctor
Bedoya Dorado, Isaac
Ramírez-Chaves, Héctor E.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021-1-14

Original Publication

Neotropical Biology and Conservation

Volume

16

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

19--25

Subjects

ecological interactions , high Andean forest , Neotropical Mammals , protected area , Tapirus pinchaque , Tremarctos ornatus

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Brazil Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/neotropical.16.e57140

 

Abstract

Two iconic and charismatic species that inhabit the northern Andes of South America are the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and the Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). Both species can be found sympatrically in several areas of Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru. Despite their overlap in distribution, little is known about interactions between both species, with few reported cases of Andean bear attacks on the Mountain tapir. Here, we report a possible attack by an Andean bear on a Mountain tapir in the northern part of Puracé National Natural Park, Colombia based on strong wounds and marks on a tapir’s back and rump. The wounds match typical attack patterns generated by Andean bears and corroborates previous camera traps records of bears attacking tapirs in this locality.