Respuesta Antidepredatoria de Osos Hormigueros ( Myrmecophaga tridactyla ) Mantenidos en Cautividad

Abstract

Antipredatory behavior of giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) in captivity Abstract Many mammals are able to perceive and respond to predation risk from signals produced by their predators, even in the absence of an ecological or evolutionary experience, or both. However, it has been proposed that captivity may affect such behavior, probably due to the unnecessary costs related to preserving the antipredatory responses in that condition. In the present work we analyzed the response of captive anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla; n=7) exposed to olfactory and acoustic stimuli from a natural predator (jaguar, Panthera onca). We compared the behavioral response of anteaters exposed to jaguar feces and vocalizations with those displayed when exposed to maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and sheep (Ovis aries) signals. The maned wolf represents a sympatric carnivorous species that does not predate on anteaters, and the sheep represents an allopatric herbivorous non-predator species. The results showed that the anteaters in captivity retain the capability to respond to and discriminate between the different treatments, mainly when exposed to vocalizations. Despite this, the antipredatory behaviors may become altered, incomplete or even lacking after large periods of isolation. Even though these are preliminary results, the experiment supports the hypothesis that captive anteaters are able to retain some predator recognition ability, and this result could be relevant when defining strategies for the reintroduction of captive-reared animals and the restoration of ecosystems that hold populations of this species.