Abstract:
Herbivores obtain nutrients mostly from the vegetation they consume, but may obtain additional min-
erals during periods of nutritional stress by consuming bones (osteophagia), a behavioral strategy
that has been reported for many wild ungulate species, including the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus
virginianus). Here we document multiple records (n = 183 camera-trap records) of osteophagia by
white-tailed deer chewing sea turtle remains (resulting from jaguar [Panthera onca] predation) near a
nesting beach in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica during January-September 2017. Females with
fawns, males with hard and velvet-covered antlers, and non-spotted fawns reached a peak of sea turtle
bone consumption during June to August. We hypothesize that seasonality, sex, age, and individual
growth stage influence the frequency of osteophagy as a strategy to cope with environmental changes
and food resource scarcity. Finally, these observations highlight the role of an apex predator as indi-
rectly influencing rare but important ecological processes.
