Keywords
fishing behavior
biogeography
Amazon rainforest
Riparian habitat
How to Cite
Accepted 2025-04-02
Published 2025-05-29
Abstract
The bush dog (Speothos venaticus) is a rare and elusive canid with a patchy distribution across the Amazon rainforest and other Neotropical biomes. Known for its social behavior and unique adaptations for cooperative hunting, the species is closely associated with dense understory vegetation and aquatic habitats. This study documents novel geographic records and a behavioral observation of S. venaticus in the Madre de Dios region of southeastern Peru, a poorly understood part of their range. We report a direct observation of a family group exhibiting foraging behavior in a riparian habitat, with an adult individual actively fishing in a small tributary of the Las Piedras River while juveniles observed. Additional records from four tributaries of the Madre de Dios watershed further underscores the species’ association with riverine systems within primary lowland rainforests.
References
Aquino R, Puertas P. 1997. Wissenschaftliche kurzmitteilungen: Observations of Speothos venaticus (Canidae: Carnivora) in its natural habitat in Peruvian Amazonia. Zeitschrift fur Saugetierkunde 62(2):117-118. https://biostor.org/reference/183662
Beisiegel BDM, Zuercher GL. 2005. Speothos venaticus. Mammalian Species 783(1):1-6. https://doi.org/10.1644/783.1
DeMatteo K, Michalski F, Leite-Pitman MRP. 2011. Speothos venaticus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T20468A9203243. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T20468A9203243.en.
DeMatteo KE, Loiselle BA. 2008. New data on the status and distribution of the bush dog (Speothos venaticus): Evaluating its quality of protection and directing research efforts. Biological Conservation 141(10):2494–2505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2008.07.010
Emmons L, Feer F. 1997. Neotropical rainforest mammals: a field guide, second edition. Chicago, Il: University of Chicago Press.
Leite Pitman MRP, Williams RSR. 2004. Short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis) In: Sillero-Zubiri GJR, Macdonald DW, editors. Canids: species status and conservation. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: Action plan UCN. p. 26-31. https://doi.rg/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198515562.001.0001
Lima EDS, DeMatteo KE, Jorge RSP, Jorge MLSP, Dalponte JC, Lima HS, Klorfine SA. 2012. First telemetry study of bush dogs: home range, activity and habitat selection. Wildlife Research 239(6):512. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR11176
Macdonald DW. 1996. Social behaviour of captive bush dogs (Speothos venaticus). Journal of Zoology 239(3):525–543. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1996.tb05941.x
de Oliveira TG, Michalski F, Botelho ALM, Michalski LJ, Calouro AM, Desbiez ALJ. 2018. How rare is rare? Quantifying and assessing the rarity of the bush dog Speothos venaticus across the Amazon and other biomes. Oryx 52(1):98-107. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316000624
Patterson BD, Stotz DF, Solari S. 2006. Mammals and birds of the Manu biosphere reserve, Peru. Fieldiana Zoology 110:1–49. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.2708
Pacheco V, Márquez G, Salas E, Centty O. 2011. Diversidad de mamíferos en la cuenca media del río Tambopata, Puno, Perú. Revista Peruana de Biología 18(2):231-244. https://doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v18i2.246
Payne CJ, Champagne PS, O’Donnell H, Lange L, Rushford C, Rosolie P, Rosenzweig D. 2024. High mammalian diversity on the Las Piedras River tributary of Madre de Dios, Peru: An annotated list of species including comments on biogeography and regional conservation. Checklist 20(1):1–32. https://doi.org/10.15560/20.1.152
Peres CA. 1991. Observations on hunting by small-eared (Atelocynus microtis) and bush dogs (Speothos venaticus) in central-western Amazonia. Mammalia 55(1):635–639. https://doi.org/10.1515/mamm.1991.55.1.139
Pocock RI. 1914. On the feet of the canidae and ursidae. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1914:913–941. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1914.tb07068.x
de Souza Lima E, Pinto Jorge RS, Dalponte, JC. 2009. Habitat use and diet of bush dogs, Speothos venaticus, in the Northern Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Mammalia 73(1):13-19. https://doi.org/10.1515/MAMM.2009.002
Wallace RB, Painter RLE, Saldiania A. 2002. An observation of bush dog (Speothos venaticus) hunting behaviour. Mammalia 66(1):309–311. https://doi.org/10.1515/mamm.2002.66.2.285
Zuercher GL, Gipson PS, Carrillo O. 2005. Diet and habitat associations of bush dogs Speothos venaticus in the Interior Atlantic Forest of eastern Paraguay. Oryx 39(1):86–89. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605305000153
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.