Jaguar and puma cannibalism in its northern distribution range in Mexico

Abstract

Cannibalism is defined as an intraspecific predation and play a key role in the dynamics of natural populations. Although this behavior has been found in a wide variety of species, including large carnivores, records of cannibalism in jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) are to some extent scarce. We documented the first records in Mexico of cannibalism in a free-ranging populations of jaguars and pumas. Encounters among territorial jaguars and pumas in its northern peripherical distribution range in Mexico may have elicited social stress and antagonistic interactions, a behavior reported in other free-ranging carnivores.

Alternate abstract:

O canibalismo é definido como predação intraespecífica e desempenha um papel fundamental na dinámica das populações naturais. Embora esse comportamento tenha sido encontrada em uma ampla variedade de espécies, incluindo grandes carnívoros, os registros de canibalismo em onças-pintadas (Panthera onca) e onças-pardas (Puma concolor) são um tanto escassos. Apresentamos os primeiros casos de canibalismo no México em populações selvagens de onças-pintadas e onças-pardas. Os encontros entre onças-pintadas e onças-pardas desconhecidos na sua área de distribuição periférica ao norte do México podem ter provocado ao estresse social e a interações antagônicas, um comportamento relatado em outros carnívoros selvagens.

Headnote

Abstract: Cannibalism is defined as an intraspecific predation and play a key role in the dynamics of natural populations. Although this behavior has been found in a wide variety of species, including large carnivores, records of cannibalism in jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) are to some extent scarce. We documented the first records in Mexico of cannibalism in a free-ranging populations of jaguars and pumas. Encounters among territorial jaguars and pumas in its northern peripherical distribution range in Mexico may have elicited social stress and antagonistic interactions, a behavior reported in other free-ranging carnivores.

Keywords: Behavior; cannibalism; Mexico; Panthera onca; intraspecific predation; Puma concolor.

Resumen: O canibalismo é definido como predação intraespecífica e desempenha um papel fundamental na dinámica das populações naturais. Embora esse comportamento tenha sido encontrada em uma ampla variedade de espécies, incluindo grandes carnívoros, os registros de canibalismo em onças-pintadas (Panthera onca) e onças-pardas (Puma concolor) são um tanto escassos. Apresentamos os primeiros casos de canibalismo no México em populações selvagens de onças-pintadas e onças-pardas. Os encontros entre onças-pintadas e onças-pardas desconhecidos na sua área de distribuição periférica ao norte do México podem ter provocado ao estresse social e a interações antagônicas, um comportamento relatado em outros carnívoros selvagens.

Palabras clave: Comportamento; canibalismo; México; Panthera onca; predação intraespecifica; Puma concolor.

Introduction

Intraspecific predation is a biological process that is taxonomically widespread consisting of both killing and eating an individual of the same species (Polis 1981, Elgar & Crespi 1992, Pfennig 1997). While heterospecific predation primarily achieves predator nutrition, intraspecific predation (i.e., cannibalism), provides other benefits to the predator, such as the removal of competitors for resources and mates (Pfennig 1997, Vijendravarma 2023).

Cannibalism is a major factor in the biology of many species and may influence population structure, life history, spacing behavior, and dominance hierarchies (Fox 1975, Polis 1981). It has been reported among many groups of animals (Elgar & Crespi 1992, Pfennig 1997, Ibáñez & Keyl 2010, Nishimura 2010, Allen et al. 2020), being widely documented in mammals (Polis et al. 1984). Carnivores are no exception (Derocher & Wiig 1999, Robbins & McCreery 2000, Amstrup et al. 2006, Bishop et al. 2016, van Neer et al. 2019), and it is known that cannibalism is a common practice in several species of felids: Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis-Elsey 1954), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus-Hunter & Skinner 1995), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx-Zaitsev 2009, Mengüllüoëlu et al. 2018), leopard (Panthera pardus-Charlsey 1977, Smith 1977, Bodendorfer et al. 2006, Steyn & Funston 2006), lion (Panthera leo-Guggisberg 1961, Beaumont 1969, Schaller 1972), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis-Silveira 1972), and tiger (Panthera tigris-Schaller 1967, Palita et al. 1994). However, records of cannibalism in jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor) are scarce (Lesowski 1963, Hornocker 1970, Ackerman et al. 1984, Azevedo et al. 2010), especially in Mexico, where records have not been reported before (Rosas-Rosas & Núñez-Pérez 2014).

The first reports of conspecific killing and cannibalism in large felids had a myriad of variables described, such as the death or when a cub is unable to survive (making its body a valuable source of nutrients for the parent), the consumption of a cub of another female, when a cub or sub-adult is found by a resident male in another territory, or near a kill (dead prey hunted by a resident), but there were divided opinions about the main factors that triggered cannibalistic behavior (Guggisberg 1961, Schaller 1972). Recent conclusions about this behavior are that often occurs during normal predatory activities as a result of behavioral, genetic, environmental (territoriality, low food availability, environmental stress), and ecological factors (density of conspecifics), and may function as a reproductive strategy (Polis et al. 1984, Elgar & Crespi 1992). Generally, more voracious cannibalism has been registered in larger and older animals compared to smaller and younger animals (Fox 1975, Polis 1981). In this short communication, we report the killing and consumption of several jaguar and puma individuals in the states of Sonora and San Luis Potosi, in northern Mexico. We discuss the possible explanations for this behavior and its impact on the populations of these free-ranging felids in areas with low population densities for jaguars such as the north of the country.

Material and Methods

Jaguars are distributed from northwest Mexico to northern Argentina (Quigley et al. 2017), in Mexico their northern distribution reaches the states of Chihuahua and Sonora-consider the northernmost breeding population-on the Pacific coast, and in the Gulf of Mexico the states of Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, and Tamaulipas (Reid 2009, Aranda 2012). On the other hand, pumas, the most widely distributed felid on the Americas (from western Canada to southern Chile), are distributed throughout Mexico, except for the central highlands and part of the Gulf of Mexico (Aranda 2012, Nielsen et al. 2015). Both felids play a key role in their environment since they are top predators, and both are opportunistic that rely mainly on medium and large-sized prey items (Currier 1983, Seymour 1989, Hayward et al. 2016, Ferreti et al. 2024). Furthermore, jaguars are considered endangered in several countries (Tirira 2001, RodriguezMahecha et al. 2006, DOF 2010, Ojeda et al. 2012, ICMBIO 2018, CITES 2025, IUCN 2025), and both species are protected to some degree (CITES Appendix I or II) across most of its range (Nielsen et al. 2015, Quigley et al. 2017).

The first cases of cannibalism were reported during a research, which took place in the late 1990, that estimated the diet of the jaguar and puma through the analysis of fecal samples (Figure 1; RosasRosas 2006, Rosas-Rosas et al. 2008). This study was carried out at the mountain massif of the Sierra Madre Occidental-in an area that encompassed approximately 400 km?-in the municipality of Nacori Chico, northeast of Sonora (29°37°-29°41°N, 108°51°-108°58· W). Topography in the study site was rocky and rugged with several intermittent and perennial streams. Elevations ranged from 500 to 1500 m. The mean annual precipitation ranged from 400 mm in the valleys to 1000 mm in higher elevations (Marshall 1957). There were two main seasons: dry season (November-June) and wet season (July-October). Monsoonal rains characterize the wet season, and scattered rains are also present in winter (January-February). The main vegetation community was semitropical thornscrub (Brown 1984, INEGI 2010). During the field research that region of Sonora was under a recurrent drought of 3 years consecutively. We determined cannibalism cases in this study area by identifying prey remains in feces. We also analyzed hair microstructure, specifically the medulla pattern, to determine prey species. In the case of other structures, such as claws, their macroscopic characteristics (type, size, shape) were also analyzed for precise identification of prey species. Additionally, we compared samples to hair of jaguars and pumas from the mammal collection at New Mexico State University to verify identification.

The fourth case of cannibalism was recorded during the monitoring of jaguars-fitted with satellite collars-and the exhaustive search for their kill sites northeast of San Luis Potosi in 2015-2018 (SilvaCaballero 2019, Silva-Caballero et al. 2024). This study was carried out in the Sierra del Abra-Tanchipa Biosphere Reserve (RBSAT) (22°05°-22°24" N, 98°52°-99°01° W) and the agrolandscape that surrounds it-sugarcane, citrus, and sorghum plantations, also cattle pastures, and human settlements-, an area of approximately 650 km". The RBSAT is a small (215 km?) biodiversity reserve which serves as an important habitat for jaguars as well as a linkage for jaguar movements in the Sierra Madre Oriental (Dueñas-López et al. 2015, Rosas-Rosas etal. 2020). Elevation ranges from 120 to 820 m (CONANP 2014), and the mean annual rainfall ranged from 1050 to 1200 mm. There were two main seasons: dry season (November-May) and wet season (June- October). Mean annual temperature is 25°C but can reach 50°C on the hottest days (Duran-Fernandez et al. 2020). The main vegetation types are low and medium sub-perennial rainforest, and tropical deciduous forest (CONANP 2014, Durán-Fernández et al. 2020). We identify the only case of cannibalism in this study area through the inspection of a jaguar kill site and the identification of prey remains. We tracked the jaguar using information from satellite collars, to the kill site, where the prey remains were identified (i.e. skull, teeth, other bones) and we estimated its age based on its dentition (Gay & Best 1996, Olifiers et al. 2010). The jaguar kill was corroborated through the presence of tracks, scats, puncture marks, lethal wounds (skull, neck, or spine), consumption pattern and if the prey was covered or not, one of the main differences with the predation of the puma (Núñez et al. 2000; Rosas-Rosas et al. 2008). To corroborate the identification of prey remains, we used field guides (Elbroch 2006, Reid 2009, Aranda 2012), as well as the online database of the National Mammal Collection of the Institute of Biology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM; http://unibio.unam.mx/irekani/).

Results and Discussion

In northeastern Sonora, mammals comprised almost all the prey in the diet of both predators, with cattle (Bos sp.) contributing most to the total biomass consumed by jaguars (58%), while white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) comprised most of the total biomass consumed by pumas (57%) (Rosas-Rosas 2006, Rosas-Rosas et al. 2008). Strikingly, remains of a jaguar cub (ca. 200 g of guard hair and 16 claws) were found in a jaguar scat deposited alongside a raked tree (a tree that has had dead leaves, twigs, and duff, removed from its base), near a latrine (29° 28° 11" N, 108° 59' 067 W). A resident male jaguar, to whom belonging the scat, was identified at the site based on associated tracks (Rosas-Rosas et al. 2003, Rosas-Rosas & Bender 2012). This identification was corroborated through camera-trapping (Rosas-Rosas & Bender 2012) at the latrine, located in the canyon called El Veladero, Rancho Los Pescados.

Recurrent droughts in northeastern Sonora provoked prey scarcity, specifically collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu), based on estimation of their populations by track transects and camera trapping (Rosas-Rosas 2006). Authors hypothesized the cannibalism event was triggered by stress due to lack of adequate prey base, especially in jaguar peripherical habitat in northeastern Sonora, where droughts are recurrent and provoke low numbers in prey availability. Infanticide in jaguars has been scarcely recorded in the literature (Hoogesteijn & Mondolfi 1992, Soares et al. 2006, Tortato etal. 2016), but for other species of large felids, could be a behavior to induce estrus in adult females (Schaller 1972, Bertram 1975, Packer & Pusey 1984, Soares et al. 2006). Indeed, as a reproductive strategy has been reported in a pride of lions, when territorial males lose their pride in battle with wanderers, their offspring are eliminated to force females to mate (Schaller 1972).

The second and third cases of cannibalism, remains of young pumas (hair) were found in puma scats also in northeast Sonora. These scats were identified by associated tracks and scrape sites, typical territorial markings of adult male pumas (Rosas-Rosas & Bender 2012). One of these belonged to an individual who deposited it in a puma latrine frequently used in the gallery vegetation of the Aros River (29° 26720" N, 109° 057 44" W). The other was found in a puma latrine on a trail used by collared peccaries at Los Mimbres Ranch (29° 24 33" N, 108° 58° 42" W). We found approximately 100 g of puma hair and phalangeal bones in both puma scats, possibly belonging to a juvenile individual. As in jaguars, there is little evidence of infanticide in pumas (Robinette et al. 1961, Hornocker 1970, Pierce et al. 1998, Logan & Sweanor 2001), however intraspecific killings among pumas are recorded more often (Robbinette et al. 1961, Hornocker 1970, Sweanor 1990, Harveson et al. 2000, Logan & Sweanor 2001, Galentine & Swift 2007). Although grooming could be the cause of the presence of puma hair in feces, in the cases of the remains found in the puma scat samples, given the amount of hair, the possibility of grooming is ruled out.

In San Luis Potosi we found that collared peccary (40%), cattle (23%), and white-tailed deer (20%) were the prey mostly found in jaguar kill sites, however cattle comprised 64% and wild ungulates provided 34% of the estimated biomass in jaguar diets (Silva-Caballero etal. 2024). On December 2, 2016, tracking one of the satellite-collared jaguars (JMO1)-a resident male of approximately 5.5 years old-, we found a kill site (22° 217 017 N, 98° 597 24" W) in which there were several jaguar scats, bedsites, and remains-hair, guts, skin and bones- of at least two dead prey in the same place, one of these, a subadult jaguar (ca. 1.5 years old). According to the evidence collected, the adult male collared jaguar apparently killed a 60 kg white-tailed deer, and like other solitary predators, remained at the kill site for several hours consuming the carcass of the prey (78 h) (Silva-Caballero 2019). Apparently, while the collared adult male was patrolling in the area, the subadult jaguar fed on the carcass (i.e., scavenging) or at least got too close to the kill site, which triggered the fatal attack (Figure 2). Based on the skeletal remains, the adult male collared killed and consumed the subadult jaguar since its skull was found broken (jaguars' trademark of single bite through the skull; Schaller & Vasconcelos 1978) and scattered at the kill site (similar pattern to other animal kill sites with not-so-hard skulls; Silva-Caballero pers. obs.), and the long bones found had consumption marks (chewed or broken scapulae, humeri, femurs, and radius).

With only few others published incidences of cannibalism in jaguars and pumas (Lesowski 1963, Hornocker 1970, Ackerman et al. 1984, Azevedo etal. 2010), our records provide important empirical evidence on a rarely observed behavior in both felids. To our knowledge, these are the first reported cases of cannibalism in Mexico for these species. Despite the small sample size and opportunistic nature of our records, the case studies presented here become more important due to their location, two of the northernmost distributions in Mexico for jaguars and pumas.

A potential explanation for the cases of cannibalism we report may be competition for the limited amount of resources (Polis 1981). In Sonora, the main vegetation it is a semitropical thornscrub and in San Luis Potosi, despite being a remnant of tropical vegetation-low and medium sub-perennial rainforest, and tropical deciduous forest-the area is surrounded by sites highly fragmented. Although these habitats have enough resources to support populations of top predators such as jaguars and pumas, these resources are not as abundant and are distributed over restricted areas (Rosas-Rosas et al. 2008, HernandezSaintMartin & Bender 2020), which is reflected by their relatively low population densities (1.1 jaguars/100 km· and 1.7 pumas/100 km? in Sonora-Rosas-Rosas & Bender 2012; 2.3 jaguars/100 km? in RBSAT-Hernändez-SaintMartin & Bender 2020). Indeed, the peripherical habitat for jaguar in Sonora is considered suboptimal due to scarcity of available prey due to recurrent droughts (Rosas-Rosas 2006).

Furthermore, the encounters between jaguars and pumas-whether residents or transients-could have caused social stress, a behavior that has been related to increased aggression in other free-ranging carnivores (Robbins & McCreery 2000, Amstrup et al. 2006, Azevedo et al. 2010). A jaguar may remain at kill site for up to 96-99 hours (Cavalcanti & Gese 2010, Silva-Caballero et al. 2024), which increases the likelihood of interactions between different individuals in the same area to get access to the carcass (Tortato et al. 2016). Interactions between felids are usually aggressive, due to their solitary behavior and high territoriality (Gorman & Trowbridge 1989, Sandell 1989, Kitchener 1991). Previous studies have recorded conspecific interactions of free-ranging jaguars and pumas around wild prey carcasses (Cavalcanti & Gese 2009, 2010, Elbroch & Quigley 2017); in several of these, it is suspected that individuals that were scavenging upon a jaguar or puma-killed carcass were killed once the felid that did the kill returned (Logan & Sweanor 2001). Similarly, according to the data collected and our observations in situ we hypothesize that this is what could have happened in some of the case studies we present here, especially the incidence in San Luis Potosi.

At both study sites, resident males apparently attacked younger individuals which entered their territory or came too close to one of their dead prey. On one hand, young individuals, such as cubs (<5 months old), similar to the remains found in northeast Sonora, or those who have not reached adulthood (<24 months old), may be more vulnerable to cannibalism by aggressive interactions with larger individuals (Tortato et al. 2016). On the other hand, in San Luis Potosi, this fact becomes important, since it was a subadult jaguar that was most likely in the process of dispersing from its birthplace (Bekoff 1989, Seymour 1989), and this fatal encounter with the collared adult male can be attributed to its inexperience, both in hunting prey as well as socializing with other adult males.

In Sonora, the seasonal scarcity of available prey for jaguars, and the behavior to force estrus to the few females present in this peripherical habitat seems to a be a possible combination of factors that triggered this behavior, as cited by several authors consuming conspecific young could be a source of nutrients for adults (Guggisberg 1961, Schaller 1972) in harsh habitat such as northeast Sonora (Rabinowitz, 1999).

It is known that human-induced mortality-poaching and retaliation kills-as well as habitat fragmentation and land use changes, are the main threats to free-ranging felids worldwide (IUCN 2025). In the study sites where the incidences of cannibalism occurred, relatively small populations of jaguars and pumas are believed to reside (RosasRosas & Bender 2012, Hernandez-SaintMartin & Bender 2020). Although the loss of even a single individual in small populations can have a considerable effect, and despite suffering from the threats mentioned above, estimates of population density of jaguars and pumas appear to remain stable over the years, both in Sonora and in San Luis Potosi (Rosas-Rosas & Bender 2012, Hernandez-SaintMartin 2014, Hernandez-SaintMartin & Bender 2020, Amador-Alcalá et al. 2024). Therefore, even random incidents of cannibalism like the case studies we report here, which surely occur regularly in natural populations, apparently do not have considerable impacts on the populations of these highly resilient felids (Logan & Sweanor 2001, Rosas-Rosas et al. 2020).

Acknowledgments

Programa de Conservacion de Especies en Riesgo-Comision Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas provided financial support. The Sierra del Abra-Tanchipa Biosphere Reserve, Africam Safari Zoo, COLPOS Montecillo and San Luis Potosi campuses provided additional support. We thank the people of Laguna del Mante and Desarrollo Ganadero "El Peñón" for their collaboration. AS-C received a scholarship from Consejo Nacional de Cienciay Tecnologia (CONACYT) for his doctoral degree at COLPOS-Campus Montecillo. All capture and handling protocols followed guidelines approved by the American Society of Mammalogists (Sikes etal. 2016). Captures were authorized by Direccion General de Vida Silvestre, Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SGPA/DGVS/07159/15 and SGPA/DGVS/06011/16433).

Associate Editor

Diego Astúa

Author Contributions

Adrián Silva-Caballero: conceptualization, data collection, manuscript preparation, and critical revision.

Octavio C. Rosas-Rosas: conceptualization, data collection, manuscript preparation, and critical revision.

Conflicts of Interest

The author(s) declare(s) that they have no conflict of interest related to the publication of this manuscript.

Ethics

This study did not involve human beings and/or clinical trials that should be approved by one Institutional Committee.

Data Availability

The entire dataset supporting the results of this study was published in the article itself.

Sidebar

SILVA-CABALLERO, A., ROSAS-ROSAS, O.C. Jaguar and puma cannibalism in its northern distribution range in Mexico. Biota Neotropica 25(3): e20241747. https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2024-1747

Received: 18/12/2024

Accepted: 06/07/2025

Published online: 15/08/2025

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