Pumas put up with each other for a penguin feast

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-12-17 11:01

International

Serota et al / Proc B

Since being reintroduced to a national park in Argentina, usually-solitary pumas now congregate at the coast to feed on penguin colonies that appeared in their absence over the last century. Researchers found that in the months the penguins were present, pumas that fed on them had much smaller ranges than usual and encountered each other more frequently. They said this shows the difficulty of predicting how the behaviour of animals might adapt when conservation efforts reintroduce them to ecosystems that have changed dramatically since they were wiped out in the wild.

News release

From: The Royal Society

A Marine Subsidy Reshapes the Ecology of a Large Terrestrial Carnivore

Efforts to restore large carnivores are transforming ecosystems worldwide, sometimes in surprising ways. In Patagonia, a recovering puma population has begun preying on Magellanic penguins, which colonized the coast after pumas disappeared a century ago. GPS and camera data revealed the highest puma density ever recorded, clustered around a small but abundant resource. Much like grizzly bears feeding on salmon runs, pumas showed unusually high social tolerance and concentrated movements. This unexpected behavior reveals that as carnivores recolonize altered landscapes, they may adapt in ways that challenge long-held assumptions about solitary predators.

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Journal/
conference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of California Berkeley, USA

Funder: Funding was provided by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Explores Club, the National Geographic Society and the University of California, Berkeley.

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