Abstract
Many herbivorous and frugivorous Amazonian species, including several arboreal animals, feed on earth and water at mineral licks in the Amazon region to supplement their diet with micronutrients and clays. These species are vulnerable to predation during this activity. We recorded an adult Brazilian porcupine (Coendou prehensilis) being predated by an adult male ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) while drinking water at a mineral lick in the Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Area (MKRCA) in northeastern Loreto, Peru. This observation provides direct evidence arboreal species like the porcupine, which move slowly on the ground, are particularly vulnerable to terrestrial predators while visiting mineral licks. Mineral licks are important in the diets and ecology of Amazonian mammals, but arboreal prey must balance the trade-off between using the resource and being hunted. We suggest that mineral licks may be hotspots of risk in Amazonian prey species' landscape of fear.
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