Record of the crab-eating fox, Cerdocyon thous (Carnivora: Canidae) preying cultivated Oreochromis niloticus in Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda, Colombia.

The crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous, Linnaeus, 1766) is a canid that lives in pairs or small groups and is widely distributed in the neotropical region, even withstanding fragmentation and human presence. This paper presents the first record of the crab-eating fox, C. thous, preying on individuals...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Manuela Londoño-Raigosa, Diego Álvarez, John Harold Castaño
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedad Colombiana de Mastozoología (SCMas) 2025-05-01
Series:Mammalogy Notes
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Online Access:https://mammalogynotes.org/ojs/index.php/mn/article/view/475
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Summary:The crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous, Linnaeus, 1766) is a canid that lives in pairs or small groups and is widely distributed in the neotropical region, even withstanding fragmentation and human presence. This paper presents the first record of the crab-eating fox, C. thous, preying on individuals of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758), cultivated in a rural area of the municipality of Santa Rosa de Cabal, Colombia. Sampling was carried out at the Fish Farming Station of the campus of the Corporación Universitaria Santa Rosa de Cabal (UNISARC). Photo-trapping was initiated from February 23 to March 1st, 2024, using 2 camera traps which were active 24 hours a day, thus fulfilling 14 traps-night. There were 19 records of observation of two individuals of C. thous around one of the ponds, and 10 evident fishing events were specifically recorded. It is considered an opportunistic species, where they learn behaviors easily in order to obtain a benefit, also they adopt different methods to obtain their, therefore, it is possible that the fishing method was learned previously and reinforced by having a high availability of resources in the area where it was documented.
ISSN:2382-3704