Back to the wild: Post-translocation GPS monitoring of a rehabilitated ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) in a forest-agriculture matrix in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

By

Wicks, Sarah
Beirne, Christopher
Azzopardi Schellmann, Cristina
Flatt, Eleanor
Quirós Beita, Sandy
Pereira Rocha, Rigoberto
Whitworth, Andrew

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024-8-30

Original Publication

Neotropical Biology and Conservation

Volume

19

Series / Issue

Issue: 3

Pages

379--392

Subjects

Costa Rica , GPS tracking , Habitat selection , Monitoring , ocelot , rehabilitation , Telemetry

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Brazil Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/neotropical.19.e124324

 

Abstract

The sparsity of post-translocation monitoring data for rehabilitated felids leaves a pressing gap in our current understanding of their integration into and use of novel landscapes. Remote monitoring tools such as GPS collars can provide crucial insights into animal movement behavior and habitat selection following translocation and assist in the decision-making process for rehabilitation and release sites. In January 2023, a young male ocelot was released on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, after eight months of rehabilitation following a vehicle strike. Six months of post-translocation monitoring using a GPS and VHF-enabled collar revealed distinctive spatial patterns between the ocelot’s initial exploratory phase (~75 days) and subsequent residential period, as well as a selection for agricultural-forest matrix habitat over primary forest. We discuss the findings in terms of learning lessons for future post-release monitoring effects and provide insight into an individual’s patterns of habitat selection in an anthropogenically modified landscape.