Published
2019-06-19

How to Cite

Chavez-Fontecha, E., Ortega Torres, M. J., & Torres Romero, J. C. (2019). Foraging behavior in giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis), a case study in Santa Rosa de Sapuara, department of Guainía, Colombia. Revista De Investigación Agraria Y Ambiental, 10(2), 75-88. https://doi.org/10.22490/21456453.2749
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Foraging behavior in giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis), a case study in Santa Rosa de Sapuara, department of Guainía, Colombia.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22490/21456453.2749
Section
Área Pecuaria
Engelbert Chavez-Fontecha Fundación IASSOS https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4911-8424
M. Janeth Ortega Torres UNAD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9791-0822
José Camilo Torres Romero UNAD https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3332-6173
The feeding behavior in the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) has been described by several authors, however, the coordinated way in which the otter takes part in the hunting and obtains his feeding, has not been studied in detail. This paper systematizes the information of observations on the hunting behavior of Pteronura brasiliensis, in the Sapuara lagoon in the department of Guanía, Colombia, and allowed to describe hunting as a cooperative and highly organized behavior. This behavior has been studied through ad-libitum observations, from rocks and trees of 10 to 20 meters high with a horizontal viewing range of 110º. Some of the parameters analyzed were fishing strategy, type of shore, time spent on fishing, number of active otters (otters that participated in the fishing), depth, climatic conditions, and effectiveness of hunting. In the end, 11 cooperative fishing behaviors were observed, which were classified into three groups: Arrowhead, ranks and rounding. The most frequent of all those observed in farm work was arrowhead with a percentage of 38 %, with an average number of 7 otters participating in the hunt and with a success rate of up to 87 %. This is a new instrument for the approach of the study of the behavior of P. brasiliensis from the cooperative perspective of hunting.

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