Does the Southern Green Anaconda, Eunectes murinus, seek areas of high prey concentration in southeastern Peru?

Champagne P.S.; Herman T.B.; Rosolie P.; Singer D.; Horton D.; Payne C.J.; Dablin L.; Colville D.; Cardenas J.; Quevedo M.; Avery T.; Pitman R.L. · Food Webs (2024) · DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2024.e00348

Resumen

Although behavior of E. murinus was broadly described over a century ago, observations of predation by E. murinus are rare. Some evidence suggests that it may target sites when hunting. We report details of six livestock depredation events at a single locality near Puerto Maldonado, Peru. Additionally, we compare positions of three radio-tagged snakes with known locations of mineral licks in their home ranges and describe the relationship of a single radio-tagged individual with game trails. Our observations of predation at mineral licks, and the association of radio-tagged individuals with them, suggest that E. murinus may specifically target mineral licks due to high prey concentration. We believe this is the first report of a reptile actively seeking prey at mineral licks. Our observations indicate that E. murinus actively seeks areas with higher prey concentration.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios