The wildland–urban interface lies at the confluence of human-dominated and wild landscapes—creating a number of management and conservation challenges. Wildlife sightings near human settlements have appeared to increase in the last years. This article reports 51 records of presences, sightings, and livestock attacks of Puma concolor, a large-sized felid, collected from 2012 to 2020 across the O’Higgins region in central Chile. Puma records were concentrated in the east of the region in the Andes Range and foothills (90%). The number of puma records is higher in the last four to six years than in previously studied years. Of the 51 records, 23.5% are between 0 and 999 m from the nearest human settlement (classified as very close), 25.5% are between 1000 and 4999 m (moderately close), and 51% are over 5000 m (distant). Most of the sightings are recorded in the summer (35%) and spring (29%). We identify an area of approximately 9000 km² of suitable habitat as the most probable corridor effectively connecting pumas moving between eastern and western areas, encompassing the Angostura de Paine mountain range. Our results contribute to the understanding of the presence and movements of P. concolor near urban areas and human settlements, confirming their persistence in and adaptation to human-dominated landscapes. We also provide insights into human–carnivore coexistence in the current global context in the densely populated central Chile.

Natural habitats in South America have been intensively used and modified, including their conversion to exotic tree plantations, impacting the terrestrial fauna communities. Carnivores play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems as apex predators. Landscape characteristics and resource availability determine the composition and abundance of co-occurring carnivores. We hypothesized that the diversity and relative abundance of native carnivores varied in relation to the different vegetation macrohabitats. We predicted that native forests support a higher diversity and abundance of native carnivores compared to exotic plantations. Between 1 March 2021 and 31 March 2022, we estimated the species’ richness, composition, and relative abundance of terrestrial native carnivores in three different landscapes of the Coast Range in central Chile: (a) monoculture plantation of the exotic Pinus radiata (MP); (b) Mediterranean coastal thorn forest (TF); and (c) Mediterranean coastal sclerophyllous forest (SF). We monitored an area of 1000 ha in each landscape, installing 10 camera traps (total of 30 camera traps). We used a monitoring transect with unbaited camera traps separated by 1 km, with a total photo-trapping effort of 10,046 camera days. The classification, organization, and analysis of camera trap data were conducted using CameraSweet software. The total number of independent native carnivore species events (photos separated > 60 min) recorded in each landscape were 1564 in SF, 1412 in TF, and 775 in MP. Carnivore richness and composition were not significantly different in all three landscapes. We detected five native carnivore species. Relative abundance by species was significantly higher in SF compared to MP for Leopardus guigna, Conepatus chinga, and Galictis cuja and also significantly higher in TF compared to MP for L. guigna. Our results suggest that the native vegetation cover must be preserved to maintain viable and abundant native carnivore populations, crucially relevant in the highly impacted and human-dominated global biodiversity hotspot of Central Chile. This study contributes to informing evidence-based decision-making and conservation strategies at the landscape level to mitigate biodiversity loss.

Landscapes can be selectively used by different carnivore species, leading to habitat specialization, which acts as a limiting resource for maintaining healthy populations. Between 1 March 2021 and 31 March 2022, we set up 30 camera traps in three different landscapes of central Chile: (a) Mediterranean coastal sclerophyllous forest (SF), (b) Mediterranean coastal thorn forest (TF), and (c) exotic monoculture tree plantations (MP), with a total capture effort of 10,046 camera-days (3098 TF, 3446 MP, and 3502 SF). We described the daily activity patterns for each native carnivore species recorded in each landscape, based on the density of independent records per hour of the day. We assessed the overlap between the activity patterns of each carnivore species in the different macrohabitats based on their coefficient of overlapping (Δ). We identified 9120 carnivore records, corresponding to 3888 independent events: 3140 for Lycalopex fox species, 276 for guiña Leopardus guigna, 434 for skunk Conepatus chinga, and 38 for the lesser grison Galictis cuja. Our study revealed differences of activity patterns with high to medium overlap, among landscape types for C. chinga and Lycalopex spp.—for skunk, between native forests and exotic monoculture tree plantations, and for foxes, among all landscape types. The carnivore community of the highly anthropized central Chile is mostly composed of habitat generalists and habitat specialists with high adaptability to landscape fragmentation, which has been crucial for their long-term survival.

Background: Species-specific density is an essential parameter for evaluating population stability and ecosystem health. We estimate the population density of native carnivores, South American gray and culpeo foxes (Lycalopex spp.), guiña (Leopardus guigna) and Andes skunk (Conepatus chinga), in central Chile, inferring on the potential influence of the availability of introduced exotic prey on their population dynamics. Methods: Monitoring with camera traps was conducted from March 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, across three distinct landscapes representative of the coastal mountain range of central Chile: Mediterranean coastal thorn forest, Mediterranean coastal sclerophyllous forest, and exotic monoculture tree plantations. We estimated density using an R package, cameratrapR, where animal movement was simulated using a correlated random walk within the camera grids. Simulations were run for a range of numbers of individuals, representing a gradient of population densities. We matched these results and the observed photo records using a machine learning algorithm, random forest, thereby estimating population density and its 95% confidence intervals. Results: A total of 10,046 trap days resulted in 9,120 photographs of carnivores, with 3,888 independent records. Our findings indicate that Lycalopex spp. are the carnivore species with the highest population density in central Chile (4.1–4.8 individuals/km²). Furthermore, their density was higher in the exotic monoculture tree plantation ecotype compared to native forests, suggesting a dietary subsidy from non-native prey. We report the first population density estimates for Conepatus chinga (1.8–2.2 individuals/km²) and Leopardus guigna (0.7–1.3 individuals/km²) in the three landscapes, showing different habitat preferences and resource availabilities across landscapes. The results highlight the complex interactions between carnivores and their environments, particularly the role of exotic introduced species as prey items in shaping native carnivore populations. These findings also provide insights into carnivore adaptability and the implications for biodiversity conservation.

Resumen.- Los lagartos Liolaemus habitan en el sur de Sudamérica, siendo uno de los géneros de vertebrados terrestres más diversos del mundo. Dentro de este género, las especies del grupo de L. elongatus habitan en la cordillera andina de Chile y de Argentina, y en los afloramientos rocosos de la Patagonia Argentina. Aquí, nosotros revisamos la identidad taxonómica de una población de los Andes de la Región de O`Higgins, Chile, previamente confundida con L. cristiani. Nosotros encontramos que este taxón no es asignable a ninguno de los Liolaemus actualmente descrito y proveemos una descripción para este. Preliminarmente nosotros incluimos a esta nueva especie en el grupo de L. elongatus, siendo una de las especies del grupo distribuidas más al norte.

We document an occasional encounter between carnivore species Lycalopex griseus and Conepatus chinga, using camera traps in native Mediterranean forest of the Coast Range in central Chile. Photographic evidence is provided as to the agonistic behavior exhibited by C. chinga and the reaction of L. griseus to this interaction. In view of incomplete niche segregation and the spatiotemporal overlap in the habitat use for both species, our observations contribute to a better understanding of the interactions and ecological dynamics of the carnivore community of this ecosystem.