ISABEL DAMAS MOREIRA
Behavioural Ecologist

Back in 2023, together with a team, I visited Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Manu National Park (Peru) - one of the oldest and most remote research stations in the world, surrounded by pristine wildlife in the heart of the Amazon. We went to this magnificient site to teach enthusiastic young Peruvian students participating in a three-month Tropical Ecology course, and to conduct pilot observations for a project on white-winged trumpeters (see Trumpeter project).

​​

Among other objectives, we aimed to capture trumpeters on camera traps to study their movements. Yet, to our amazement, in a serendipitous event, one night a camera captured an ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and a common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) walking together - and returning together a few minutes later. The footage clearly indicated that this was more than a predator-prey interaction. After consulting with other researchers using camera traps, we found additional instances of the same association from previous years across Peru. Moreover, by reanalysing videos from an experiment in the wild in Panama, we also found evidence that opossums seem to be specifically attracted to ocelot scents. ​​

​

This is the first time such an association between these two species has even been described - and we still do not know what it means. If both animals gain some benefit from being together, it could relate to improved hunting success or protection. Whatever the mechanism is, it promises to be an exciting finding!

​​​​​

This paper was featured in media outlets around the world, and we even made the journal's cover page, with a photo taken by Fortunato Rayan. ​​​If you are curious about our study, check out our publication and media coverage (e.g. in New York Times).​