DIET OF THE SPECTACLED CAIMAN (CAIMAN CROCODILUS) IN THE CENTRAL VENEZUELAN LLANOS

Between October 1984 and June 1989, a sample of 274 spectacled caiman (189 dead on road, 85 sacrificed) was examined to study diet in the central Venezuelan lianos. I divided prey items found in the stomach into 10 categories and conducted analyses based on prey frequency and mass. Overall, fish, mammals, snails (Pomacea), and freshwater crabs were the most important prey. The diet of the caimans shifted ontogenetically and seasonally. The diet of the caimans during the dry season was composed largely of fish. Snails and crabs were consumed principally during the wet season. Mammals were most frequently encountered in the stomachs of the caimans during the late dry and early wet seasons. Vertebrate prey became more important with increasing size of caimans, with larger caimans consuming more fish and mammals. The consumption of insects was negatively correlated with the size of caimans, but snails and crabs were important in the diet of caimans of all size-classes. Caimans consumed food at a low rate, containing a mean of 15.6 g of recently ingested material; 25% of all stomachs that I examined were empty.