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Diet Clues
Scientists have three main methods for getting data about
what jaguars eat:
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Observation
This is rare and difficult with a jaguar. Some researchers
spend years in jaguar habitat and never see a live animal
unless they trap it or chase it with dogs. Seeing one
make a kill is almost unheard of.
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Scats
Remains of prey, in the form of small bones, hair, scales,
small hooves, claws and other remains, pass through the
digestive system and are deposited in feces, which biologists
refer to as scats. Skilled analysis can determine what
species the animal has been feeding on. It's easier to
get large sample numbers of scats, but by just examining
scats, researchers may miss some species. In large species,
for example, much of what's eaten is muscle tissue or
internal organs. This means that there are less hair and
fewer bones in the scats, which are needed for identification.
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Remains of kills
These are not as rare as observed kills, but not as common
as scats. Looking at kills to see what a jaguar is eating
biases data toward large prey animals, whose remains are
easy to find. It's also hard to find enough kills to get
good data sets.
Ideally, researchers would use all three methods, but
even in the best of situations, they have been able to
use only scats and kills, with use of scats being most
common. |
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What are the advantages
and disadvantages of the three methods for getting
data on jaguar’s diet? Write down your answers
in your field notebook. |
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