Predation attempt and abnormal coat coloration of the tayra (Eira barbara) in the Brazilian Central Amazon

ABSTRACT

Predation is one of the most important interactions between species and a major selection pressure in wild mammal populations. Camouflage is a common pattern of colorations resulting from predation pressure, however, atypical coloration may appear in the wild. Both predation and atypical coloration in mammal species are difficult to observe in a natural setting but contain important biological information. Here we describe a leucistic tayra (Eira barbara) attempting to prey on a sloth (Bradypus tridactylus). The event occurred in Brazilian Central Amazon as a tayra unsuccessfully tried to kill an adult sloth in the mid-canopy of a secondary forest.

RESUMO

A predação é uma das mais importantes interações entre espécies e desempenha uma grande pressão de seleção em populações de mamíferos silvestres. A camuflagem é um dos principais padrões de coloração resultante da pressão de predação, porém, eventualmente colorações atípicas podem aparecer nessas populações. Tanto eventos de predação quanto de mamíferos com colorações atípicas são difíceis de detectar em vida livre, mas contém informações biológicas importantes. No presente estudo descrevemos o evento de uma Irara (Eira barbara) leucística tentando predar um indivíduo de Preguiça-Bentinho (Bradypus tridactylus). O evento ocorreu na Amazônia Central Brasileira onde a Irara tentou, sem sucesso, predar uma preguiça no estrato médio de uma floresta secundária da região.

KEYWORDS:

• leucism
• camouflage
• predator–prey
• sloth
• Bradypus

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Gonçalo Ferraz and his staff as well as the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project for logistic support and Cadi Fung for English review. This is contribution 695 in the BDFFP/INPA-STRI technical series and contribution 16 from the Amazon Mammal Research Group. Finally, we thank the two anonymous reviewers, and the editor-in-chief, Anne Zillikens for their helpful suggestions and comments on previous versions of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

We are grateful to Primate Action Fund and Conservation International that funded a parallel study where the current observation was made [PAF 14-15; CI Contract 1000796]. We also acknowledge financial support received by means of scholarships from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) in the course of study.