Notes on the ecology, activity patterns and behavior of the kinkajou (Potos flavus)
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Nelson F. Galvis
,
Andrés Link
Abstract
Kinkajous are one of the most widely distributed Neotropical mammals, nonetheless, their nocturnal habits have posed challenges on the study of their ecology and behavior. Here, we used arboreal camera trapping in a pristine Amazonian forest in Ecuador, and ad libitum data from direct encounters in a lowland and a highland forest in Colombia to describe their activity patterns and describe anecdotal data on their diet and reproductive behaviors. As expected, kinkajous are strictly nocturnal and seem to be active throughout the entire night, although in our study there was less activity towards the beginning and the end of the night. Kinkajous were observed to be mostly solitary, rarely in groups of two to three adult individuals. Although their diet has not been described in detail, fruits from Moraceae and Urticaceae appear to be important components of their diet. Their reproductive behavior involves an isolated pair of kinkajous, and may be interrupted by other males. Pairs seem to meet for reproductive purposes and range together for several hours, during which courtship may take place, ending in copulation, which lasts for approximately 3 min. After copulation, the male and female appear to separate and return to their solitary habits. The results of this study complement the scarce information on the elusive kinkajous in the Neotropical forests.
Funding source: Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología de Colombia
Award Identifier / Grant number: 727 del 2015
Funding source: Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2019
Acknowledgments
We thank the Montilla and Lalinde family for allowing the development of this project and all those associated with Proyecto Primates, whom we would like to thank for all the institutional and logistical support. We would also like to thank Jose Vieira and the field staff at Tiputini Biodiversity Station – Ecuador for their constant help. Finally, we would like to thank all the field assistants and the members of Laboratorio de Ecología de Bosques Tropicales y Primatología who helped to improve this work.
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Research ethics: This research was performed in accordance with national laws.
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Author contributions: Nelson F. Galvis, Sebastian Montilla and Andrés Link conceived the study, wrote the original draft, writing-reviewing and editing. Nelson F. Galvis analyzed the data. Diego Mosquera, Gabriela Vinueza-Hidalgo, Lisa Carrillo, Alex Mopán, Sebastián Montilla collected data. Nelson F. Galvis, Sebastian Montilla, Andrés Link, Diego Mosquera and Gabriela Vinueza-Hidalgo participated in funding acquisition. All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: This study was funded by the Universidad de los Andes – Colombia, and the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (Grant no. 727–2015) – Colombia, and Universidad San Francisco de Quito – Ecuador.
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Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Conservation
- State of knowledge and distribution of the Andean white ear opossum (Didelphis pernigra, Allen 1900) in Colombia
- Ecology
- A tapestry of habitats: exploring abundance and habitat preferences of the Northern Red Muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis) across the Central Himalayan landscape
- Notes on the ecology, activity patterns and behavior of the kinkajou (Potos flavus)
- Seasonal breeding in three sympatric rodent species in semi-arid Tigray, northern Ethiopia
- Widespread population of invasive ferrets Mustela furo (Carnivora: Mustelidae) on the island of Madeira, Macaronesia
- First record of albinism in long-nosed mongoose Xenogale naso documented with camera traps in the Yoko Council Forest, Centre Cameroon
- New distribution and breeding record of Wroughton’s free-tailed bat (Otomops wroughtoni) (Chiroptera: Molossidae) from Meghalaya, India
- The bat Tonatia bidens (Phyllostomidae) as an insect pest predator in the Brazilian Caatinga
- Observations of a greater sac-winged bat pup (Saccopteryx bilineata) with a chromatic disorder
- Biogeography
- Presence of the crab-eating fox Cerdocyon thous in La Rioja, Argentina, and implications for its geographic and environmental niche modeling
- The southern geographic range of Micronycteris sanborni (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae)
- Museology/History of Science
- The scientific discovery and subsequent history of the douc monkey Pygathrix nemaeus (Linnaeus, 1771) near Da Nang, Vietnam
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Conservation
- State of knowledge and distribution of the Andean white ear opossum (Didelphis pernigra, Allen 1900) in Colombia
- Ecology
- A tapestry of habitats: exploring abundance and habitat preferences of the Northern Red Muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis) across the Central Himalayan landscape
- Notes on the ecology, activity patterns and behavior of the kinkajou (Potos flavus)
- Seasonal breeding in three sympatric rodent species in semi-arid Tigray, northern Ethiopia
- Widespread population of invasive ferrets Mustela furo (Carnivora: Mustelidae) on the island of Madeira, Macaronesia
- First record of albinism in long-nosed mongoose Xenogale naso documented with camera traps in the Yoko Council Forest, Centre Cameroon
- New distribution and breeding record of Wroughton’s free-tailed bat (Otomops wroughtoni) (Chiroptera: Molossidae) from Meghalaya, India
- The bat Tonatia bidens (Phyllostomidae) as an insect pest predator in the Brazilian Caatinga
- Observations of a greater sac-winged bat pup (Saccopteryx bilineata) with a chromatic disorder
- Biogeography
- Presence of the crab-eating fox Cerdocyon thous in La Rioja, Argentina, and implications for its geographic and environmental niche modeling
- The southern geographic range of Micronycteris sanborni (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae)
- Museology/History of Science
- The scientific discovery and subsequent history of the douc monkey Pygathrix nemaeus (Linnaeus, 1771) near Da Nang, Vietnam
