Abstract
Artiodactyl prey species of Chile, especially guanacos (Lama guanicoe)
are reported to be very susceptible to predation by pack hunting feral
dogs. It has been previously suggested that guanacos and endemic South
American deer may have evolved in the absence of pack-hunting cursorial
predators. However, the paleoecology of canid presence in southern South
America and Chile is unclear. Here, we review the literature on South
American and Chilean canids, their distributions, ecologies and hunting
behaviour. We consider both wild and domestic canids, including Canis
familiaris breeds. We establish two known antipredator defense
behaviours of guanacos: predator inspection of ambush predators, e.g.
Puma concolor, and rushing at and kicking smaller cursorial predators,
e.g. Lycalopex culpaeus. We propose that since the late Pleistocene
extinction of hypercarnivorous group-hunting canids east of the Andes,
there were no native species creating group-hunting predation pressures
on guanacos. Endemic deer of Chile may have never experienced group
hunting selection pressure from native predators. Even hunting dogs (or
other canids) used by indigenous groups in the far north and extreme
south of Chile (and presumably the center as well) appear to have been
used primarily within ambush hunting strategies. This may account for
the susceptibility of guanacos and other prey species to feral dog
attacks. We detail seven separate hypotheses that require further
investigation in order to assess how best to respond to the threat posed
by feral dogs to the conservation of native deer and camelids in Chile
and other parts of South America.