Coprofagia heteroespecífica en el venado Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780) en Costa Rica

José Manuel Mora; Juan de Dios Astorga-Acuña

doi:10.31687/SaremNMS25.1168

Autores/as

José Manuel Mora Carrera de Gestión Ecoturística, Sede Central, Universidad Técnica Nacional, Alajuela, Costa Rica. Department of Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Biology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Juan de Dios Astorga-Acuña Ingeniería en Manejo Forestal y Vida Silvestre, Universidad Técnica Nacional, Atenas, Costa Rica. Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación, Área de Conservación Arenal-Tempisque, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1200-1495

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31687/SaremNMS25.1168

Palabras clave:

bosque seco, caballos, Cervidae, coprofagia, heces, herbívoros

Resumen

Los animales pueden involucrarse en la coprofagia, incluida la coprofagia heteroespecífica, o sea el consumo de heces de otras especies. El venado Odocoileus virginianus se alimenta principalmente de material vegetal, como brotes tiernos de hierbas y arbustos. Este informe documenta un caso de coprofagia heteroespecífica en el venado en Costa Rica, donde se observó a dos individuos consumiendo heces de caballo. Las razones de la coprofagia heteroespecífica en rumiantes como el venado no están claras. La suplementación nutricional, la transferencia microbiana u otros factores ecológicos podrían influir en este comportamiento. Sin embargo, este comportamiento también conlleva riesgos, como la transmisión de enfermedades y parásitos de otras especies.

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