Surplus killing and prey stashing behavior in an insectivorous carnivore.
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| Title: | Surplus killing and prey stashing behavior in an insectivorous carnivore. |
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| Authors: | le Roux, Aliza1 (AUTHOR) lerouxa3@ufs.ac.za, Jumbam, Keafon1 (AUTHOR), Renda, Samantha1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Ecology. Feb2026, Vol. 107 Issue 2, p1-4. 4p. |
| Subjects: | Foraging behavior, Nurturing behavior, Canidae, Carnivorous animals, Predation |
| Geographic Terms: | South Africa |
| Abstract: | This article focuses on the unusual foraging and parental behaviors of the bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis), an insectivorous canid specialized in consuming termites and ants. Observations at the Kuruman River Reserve in South Africa revealed a lactating female exhibiting surplus killing and incipient caching ("stashing") of rodents, a behavior not previously documented in this termite specialist or closely related canids. This behavior likely serves to meet the high energetic demands of lactation by capitalizing on the seasonal abundance of high-fat rodent prey, contrasting with the fox’s typical insectivorous diet. The study suggests that such behavioral flexibility during parental care may represent an evolutionary antecedent to more complex caching behaviors seen in generalist canids. [Extracted from the article] |
| Copyright of Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 192091706 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1002/ecy.70310 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 4 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Foraging behavior Type: general – SubjectFull: Nurturing behavior Type: general – SubjectFull: Canidae Type: general – SubjectFull: Carnivorous animals Type: general – SubjectFull: Predation Type: general – SubjectFull: South Africa Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Surplus killing and prey stashing behavior in an insectivorous carnivore. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: le Roux, Aliza – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Jumbam, Keafon – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Renda, Samantha IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 02 Text: Feb2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00129658 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 107 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Ecology Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
