Ranging Behavior and Population Dynamics of the Chacoan Peccary, Catagonus wagneri

We report results of a 2-year field study on the ecology of the endangered Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri) in the Paraguayan Gran Chaco. Stable groups averaged 4.5 individuals. Two intensively tracked groups used ranges of 1,095-1,551 ha by minimum-convex polygons. Animals were active from dawn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of mammalogy Vol. 74; no. 2; pp. 443 - 454
Main Authors:	Taber, Andrew B., Doncaster, C. Patrick, Neris, Nora N., Colman, Flaviano H.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Provo, UT American Society of Mammalogists 01-05-1993 Brigham Young University, Department of Zoology Oxford University Press
Subjects:	Animal and plant ecology Animal behavior Animal populations Animal, plant and microbial ecology Animals Biological and medical sciences Cactus Catagonus wagneri Demecology Ecology Female animals Forest habitats Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Hunting Male animals Mammalia Mammals Mating behavior Peccaries Plant spines Polygons Vertebrata South America Paraguay America Cartography Radiotelemetry Home range Endangered species Animal grouping Mortality Animal active movement Population decline Vertebrata Mammalia Animal activity Spatial distribution Population dynamics Artiodactyla Animal population Ungulata Distance
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Summary:	We report results of a 2-year field study on the ecology of the endangered Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri) in the Paraguayan Gran Chaco. Stable groups averaged 4.5 individuals. Two intensively tracked groups used ranges of 1,095-1,551 ha by minimum-convex polygons. Animals were active from dawn to dusk, with variations due to season, individual, and temperature. They travelled on average 2.2 km/day, not always returning to the same nightrest position. Ground cacti on which they fed were aggregated in infrequent patches scattered within their habitat of thorn forest. Daily ranges averaged 18.25 ha and were used on ca. 42-day cycles. Core areas were associated with cactus patches. Mutual avoidance between groups was indicated by low overlap of home ranges and the presence of scat stations. A dispersing group of one male and one female occupied three temporally and spatially discrete ranges, and moved 4.6 km over 9 months. The study area contained 0.43 individuals/ km2. The population in the study area was in decline, explained by an annual mortality of 47% (five deaths recorded), probably low survival of young, a single farrowing season during the year, and a probable age of 2 years for first reproduction. We discuss implications of these results for conservation of the species.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23
ISSN:	0022-2372 1545-1542 1545-1542 0022-2372
DOI:	10.2307/1382401