Scavenger Assemblage Behavior at Puma Kills in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Maximilian L Allen, Andrew T L Allan, Richard M King, Bethany H Warner, John J Morgan, Christopher C Wilmers · 2026
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Description
Maximilian L Allen and co-authors watch, in a 2026 study, which scavengers gather at puma kills in California's Santa Cruz Mountains. Scavengers recycle nutrients, but apex predators both feed them and frighten them. The team set motion-activated video cameras at fifty deer and other hoofed kills made by pumas. They expected turkey vultures to visit most often and larger meat-eaters, coyotes and bobcats, to linger longest once they arrived.
Vultures proved the main scavengers, visiting the most carcasses, arriving first most often, and spending the most time feeding. Coyotes and bobcats did stay longer per visit, as predicted. Pumas themselves often returned to feed at kills made by other pumas. Only vultures shifted their time at kills with the seasons. The study maps who eats, who waits, and who rules at a kill site.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Maximilian L Allen, Andrew T L Allan, Richard M King, Bethany H Warner, John J Morgan, Christopher C Wilmers |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 30 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |