Report of an attack on a howler monkey <i>Alouatta sara</i> by a group of collared peccaries <i>Dicotyles tajacu</i> at a mammal clay lick in Madre de Dios, Peru
<p>Howler monkeys <i>Alouatta</i> are almost exclusively arboreal. They will, however, occasionally descend to the forest floor to conduct geophagy at clay licks if these are present within their home range. They do this to incorporate certain minerals into their diet and/or for de...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | Primate Biology |
| Online Access: | https://pb.copernicus.org/articles/9/29/2022/pb-9-29-2022.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Howler monkeys <i>Alouatta</i> are almost exclusively arboreal. They will,
however, occasionally descend to the forest floor to conduct geophagy at
clay licks if these are present within their home range. They do this to
incorporate certain minerals into their diet and/or for detoxification
purposes. Clay licks are risky areas however, especially for arboreal
mammals, as visiting them requires the monkeys to leave the safety of the trees. This has been
confirmed by observed predation attempts on howler monkeys by large felines
at clay licks. We report an additional risk for howler monkeys descending to
the forest floor that has not previously been considered, namely
potential attacks by collared peccaries <i>Dicotyles tajacu</i>. Camera traps were placed at three
different clay licks in the Taricaya Ecological Reserve, located in the southeastern Peruvian Amazon, to monitor the fauna within the reserve. On
4 June 2017, the camera traps registered a lethal attack on a
howler monkey by a group of collared peccaries at one of the clay licks.</p> |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2363-4707 2363-4715 |