Scientists have radio-tagged two elusive short-eared dogs, and learned a great deal about their movements and feeding ecologies. photo: Renata Leite Pitman

Our mammal research focuses on the capture and collection and analysis of data on the area and habitat requirements of key wide-ranging and migratory species.

Through radio-telemetry, we have followed three species of large mammal -- giant armadillo, white-lipped peccary, and short-eared dog -- over several different rainforest habitats.

During this first year of the project, we have experimented with several capture techniques and radio collar options. We are now tracking marked peccaries from six different groups, and have radio-tagged two elusive and poorly-known species: a giant armadillo and two short-eared dogs. We have learned a great deal about the movements and feeding ecologies of these three species, and are now increasing our efforts to radio-collar individuals large cats (jaguar or ocelot).

In addition, we are getting to know the local terrain and human communities, in order to minimize any conflicts of interest.

Field site

The mammal research takes place in and around the Los Amigos Conservation Concession and biological field station, which sits on a high bank overlooking the Madre de Dios River, just upstream from the junction with the Los Amigos River in southeastern Peru.

The station at Los Amigos has a series of over 25 trails that allow access to at least two rivers, three different palm swamps, two oxbow lakes, floodplain forests, and several thousand hectares of relatively intact upland forest.

These trails cover terra firme (upland) moist forest, swamp forest, palm swamp wetlands, bamboo stands, and secondary growth on new riverside beaches.

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Species

For the first year, we hope to capture individuals of the following species: jaguar (Panthera onca), white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis), and giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus).

In the coming years, the project may begin study on other little-known species, such as the monk saki monkey (Pithecia monachus) and the Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris).

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Methods

Finding mammals: We use several methods to catch mammals, including looking for tracks and other signs of white-lipped peccaries, jaguars, ocelots, short-eared dogs, and other mammals, baited traps for the carnivores, and drop net traps and searching on foot for herds of peccaries (which make noise and smell quite strong!).

Remote cameras, such as the one at right, snap photos when triggered by movement. The photos they take of animals that pass by a given site assist the researchers in identifying areas to begin trapping.

• designing and setting traps
• climbing trees (nests, platforms)
• building scaffolding towers (difficult nests)
• setting remote cameras (mammals)
• using dart guns
• placing radio collars on animals
• radio-tracking

Searching for areas of mammal concentrations in the Amazon takes a great deal of searching by foot and by boat through forest and muddy floodplains.

Data analysis: Once an individual is found, its locations are marked with a Global Positional System (GPS), and entered into a computer database.

The data will be processed and analyzed through spreadsheet and database programs, as well as with a geographic information system (GIS).

The GIS will allow our team to map and analyze spatial use parameters including: total area used per individual, overlap among individuals, and relative habitat use by males and females.

We also hope to analyze changes in habitat use that are related to seasonality (rainy season and dry season), as well as long-term climatic cycles, such as El Niño events.

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Findings

We are now monitoring white-lipped peccaries from six different groups, which should provide interesting data on food availability and group interactions, as well as the movements of the respective groups.

Between December 2003, when we captured our first white-lipped peccary ("Karina"), and February 2004, one of our first targeted peccary groups used an area of over 18 km², walking up to 20 km in a few hours and consuming a number of different fruits, particularly aguaje palm (Mauritia flexuosa) and rubber tree fruit (Hevea guianensis, see photo at right).

Between March and mid-April, this group remained in a smaller area of approximately 4 km², where receding flood waters left food resources (mainly fruits, such as the Astrocaryum murumuru at left) concentrated in drying temporary ponds, so the peccaries had little need to move on.

More recently, this group of peccaries has started to move around again, mainly in floodplain areas of the Los Amigos concession.

So far, the giant armadillo ("Serafin") has slept in three different dens, which are approximately 500 meters apart. He has not moved great distances and even spent almost 3 weeks in the same den, leaving its den around 8:00 p.m. to find food and returning to the same den after 1:00 a.m. Serafin moved to a new den the week of January 10 and again the week of January 20.

Serafin's collar and radio fell off after 3 months of providing the team with movement and feeding data, 2 months longer than previous studies of this animal. We will soon begin experimenting with a new adhesive transmitter designed specifically for this group of animals, in order to extend our observation period.

Two short-eared dogs, a rare and secretive animal of the forest, were captured and radio-tagged this year. We were able to monitor each of them for several weeks. Both met untimely ends -- the first dying of illness and the second eaten by a jaguar, leaving us only the collar, some bone pieces, and some hair.

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Personnel

• Renata Leite, Field Director
• Samuel Astete, Peru
• Lucas Huaymana, Peru
• David Ayquipa, Peru
• Armando Mendoza, Peru
• Dario Cruz, Peru
• Pedro Maceda, Peru
• Sarah , Australia
• Vicente Vilca, Peru

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