Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica First field observation of the predation by Jaguar (Panthera onca) on Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) at Nancite Beach

Jaguars have been recorded preying on adult female sea turtles on their nesting beaches in Costa Rica, Guyana, Mexico and Suriname (Fretey 1977, Autar 1994, Cuevas et al. 2014, Guildera et al. 2015). Jaguars prey on Green (Chelonia mydas), Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles (see Fretey 1977, Autar 1994, Carrillo et al. 1994, Chinchilla 1997, Treng 2000, Heithaus et al. 2008, Verssimo et al. 2012, Arroyo-Arce et al. 2014, Cuevas et al. 2014, Arroyo-Arce & Salom-Prez 2015, Guildera et al. 2015). The capture effort and risk of injury associated with the predation of nesting sea turtles is expected to be lower relative to other prey species in the jaguars diet (Cavalcanti & Gese 2010). Additionally, they can be key resources when other pr ey availability is low (Verssimo et al. 2012).

Escobar-Lasso, S., Fonseca, L., Villachica, W. N., Herrera, H., Valverde, R. A., Quirs-Pereira, W., Pesquero, M., & Plotkin, P. T.

Escobar-Lasso, Sergio||Fonseca, Luis||Villachica, Wilbert N||Herrera, Hansel||Valverde, Roldán A||Quirós-Pereira, Wagner||Pesquero, Marta||Plotkin, Pamela T

First field observation of the predation by Jaguar (Panthera onca) on Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) at Nancite Beach, Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica Academic Article