Artiodactyl prey species of Chile, especially guanacos (Lama
guanicoe) are reported to be very susceptible to predation by pack
hunting feral dogs. It has been previously suggested that guanacos and
endemic South American deer may have evolved in the absence of
pack-hunting cursorial predators. However, the paleoecology of canid
presence in southern South America and Chile is unclear. Here, we review
the literature on South American and Chilean canids, their
distributions, ecologies and hunting behaviour. We consider both wild
and domestic canids, including Canis familiaris breeds. We establish two
known antipredator defense behaviours of guanacos: predator inspection
of ambush predators, e.g. Puma concolor, and rushing at and
kicking smaller cursorial predators, e.g. Lycalopex culpaeus. We
propose that since the late Pleistocene extinction of hypercarnivorous
group-hunting canids east of the Andes, there were no native species
creating group-hunting predation pressures on guanacos. Endemic deer of
Chile may have never experienced group hunting selection pressure from
native predators. Even hunting dogs (or other canids) used by indigenous
groups in the far north and extreme south of Chile (and presumably the
center as well) appear to have been used primarily within ambush hunting
strategies. This may account for the susceptibility of guanacos and
other prey species to feral dog attacks. We detail seven separate
hypotheses that require further investigation in order to assess how
best to respond to the threat posed by feral dogs to the conservation of
native deer and camelids in Chile and other parts of South America.
A division of labour with role specialization in group–hunting bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) off Cedar Key, Florida
