What Does the Fox Say to A Puma?
Published:17 Nov.2020 Source:Virginia Tech
Researchers have found that in the Chilean Andes, two predator species -- the puma and the culpeo fox -- can successfully share a landscape and hunt for food over the same nighttime hours because they are, in essence, ordering from different menus.
"The puma and the culpeo fox are the only top predators on the landscape in the Chilean Andes," said Professor Marcella Kelly, of the College of Natural Resources and Environment. "And there isn't a wide range of prey species, in part because the guanacos [closely related to llamas] aren't typically found in these areas anymore due to over-hunting. With such a simplified ecosystem, we thought we could really nail down how two rival predators interact."