Study suggests prey carcasses fertilise the soil to grow nutrient-rich plants that attract large hooved mammals to hunting areas
Pumas’ hunting strategies might be superior than earlier believed. A new study has suggested that the wild cats might utilise a sly hunting strategy known as ‘garden to hunt,’ — meaning they fertilise the soil in their hunting spots with their kills to attract more prey.
The study was published in Springer Nature journal on March 27, 2023, titled Large carnivore foraging contributes to heterogeneity in nutrient cycling. It was conducted by wild cat conservation group Panthera.
Pumas hunt only in select areas that give them an advantage, according to Panthera. The animal carcasses of their prey are helping the animals create nutrient-rich hotspots that may continue to improve their future hunting success over time.
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These nutrients in the soil increase plant quality and attract ungulates — large mammals with hooves. These changes may even influence where ungulates like elk congregate and feed, given their preference for nitrogen-rich food, the paper said.
These habitats are also conducive to future stalk-and-ambush puma hunting, helping the researchers discover a fascinating foraging cycle for pumas and their prey.
Decomposing ungulate carcasses deposits elevated nitrogen, carbon and other valuable elements that improve soil and plants’ chemistry and nutrient makeup.
Over a nine-year lifespan, each puma was estimated to have created approximately 482 temporary hotspots of nutrient-rich soil.
The hunting capacity of pumas also fascinated the authors of the paper. A dozen pumas can produce over 100,000 kilogrammes of carrion per year, a mass equivalent to that of the world’s largest animal, the blue whale.
Each study and glimpse into the secret lives of pumas reveals that their behaviours and contributions to nature are far more complex than imagined, said Mark Elbroch, Panthera Puma director and one of the study’s authors.
“Pumas contribute over a million kg of meat to ecosystems every day, improving the quality of soil and plant life, feeding hundreds of species, and supporting the health of their ecosystems and our planet’s overall web of life,” he said.
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Pinpointing the locations of GPS-collared pumas in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, scientists identified puma kill sites to collect and analyse 1,007 soil samples from 172 ungulate carcasses and 130 plant samples from 65 sites.
Along with increased nutrients in soil and plant samples, researchers found kills were concentrated in a tiny fraction of habitat (4 per cent) favouring pumas’ preferred stalk-and-ambush strategy.
Scientists found the species were more likely to kill in habitat home to high tree canopies, low elevations, steeper slopes and areas close to forest edges, roads and streams.
Nutrient distribution via puma kills impacts overall ecosystems, including influencing soil and plant chemistry and diversity; the distribution and variety of invertebrates; and the makeup of wildlife scavenger communities, such as fox, the study added.
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A dozen pumas can produce over 100,000 kilogrammes of carrion per year, a mass equivalent to that of the world’s largest animal, the blue whale. Photo: Neal Wight / Panthera.png)
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