Preliminary observations on the diet of leopards (<i>Panthera pardus</i>) from a conservation area and adjacent rangelands in the Baviaanskloof region, South Africa

Ott, Theresia; Kerley, Graham I.H.; Boshoff, André F.

doi:10.1080/15627020.2007.11407374

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, like the reports for caracal scats, rock hyraxes seldom occurred in the scats of leopards in Anysberg. Micromammals were the second most consumed mammalian group for leopards in Anysberg, a finding similar to other studies conducted in the Western Cape mountains, especially when hyraxes were not often detected (Norton et al , Ott et al , Braczkowski et al ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Caracal Leopard hyraxes seldom occurred in the scats of leopards in Anysberg. Micromammals were the second most consumed mammalian group for leopards in Anysberg, a finding similar to other studies conducted in the Western Cape mountains, especially when hyraxes were not often detected (Norton et al 1986, Ott et al 2007, Braczkowski et al 2012. Medium-sized predators on farms had a broader dietary niche than their counterparts and leopards in the reserve, with caracals on farms having a broader dietary niche than jackals.…”

Section: Jackalsupporting

confidence: 82%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Dietary niche relationships among predators on farmland and a protected area

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of land for pastoralism is often associated with a reduction in the diversity and abundance of wildlife and influences conflict between farmers and predators worldwide. We explored differences in the diversity and relative abundance of medium and large animals on farmlands and a nearby protected area and compared these differences to prey consumed by 3 sympatric predators (black‐backed jackal [Canis mesomelas], caracal [Caracal caracal], and leopard [Panthera pardus]) in the Karoo region of South Africa. All 3 predators, but especially jackals and caracals, are a source of conflict with small‐stock farmers, many of whom believe that predators use the protected area as a base for raiding farmland. We determined predator diets using 657 scats collected on both land uses in subsequent years. Domestic ungulates dominated the farming landscape and comprised the bulk of prey in the scats of jackals and caracals as determined by the frequency of occurrence (42% and 25%, respectively), percent volume (47% and 32%, respectively), and ingested biomass. By contrast jackals and caracals in the reserve fed primarily on fruits and micromammals, respectively, with a lower ingested biomass of mammalian prey. No domestic sheep were in any of the scats in the reserve. We found leopard scats only in the reserve and they mostly contained wild ungulates. Dietary niche breadth and overlap were higher on farms than in the reserve and were attributed to the high consumption of domestic livestock by jackal and caracal. Dietary overlap between medium‐sized predators and leopards was small. Caracals on farms and caracals and jackals in the reserve showed strong prey preference for wild mammals, whereas jackals on farms showed prey preference for goats and sheep over similar‐sized wild mammals. Leopards showed preference for bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus) and mountain‐dwelling antelopes but consumed baboons (Papio ursinus) according to availability. Together these results fill a gap in our knowledge about jackal and caracal diets on farmland and dietary niche relationships between 3 sympatric predators in conflict with small‐stock farmers in the semi‐arid regions of South Africa. In terms of management, our results show that it is crucial that farmers protect their livestock from predators, even on farms where wild prey are abundant because of jackals' preference for sheep and goats over similar‐sized wild mammals. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Jackalsupporting

confidence: 82%

Dietary niche relationships among predators on farmland and a protected area

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As successive samples were collected infrequently over such a long period, we assumed that the same prey item was only represented in one individual scat. Scats were identified as belonging to leopards on one or more of the following criteria: (1) shape (Norton et al , 1986); (2) scat diameter>20 mm (Norton et al , 1986; Hart et al , 1996; Khorozyan & Malkhasyan, 2002); (3) presence of leopard spoor or marking where the scat was collected; (4) the scat contained leopard hair ingested through interspecific killing or grooming (Ott, Kerley & Boshoff, 2007); scats<20 mm diameter were discarded unless leopard hair was present.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hair from each scat was evenly spread across a grid divided into forty‐nine 25 cm 2 squares and an assortment of five hairs was selected from random blocks. Hair scale imprints made using nail varnish (Ott et al , 2007) were compared with photographs from a reference collection at the Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (Ott et al , 2007, T. Rautenbach, unpubl. data), published photographs and keys and samples from animal skins.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet determination of the Cape Mountain leopards using global positioning system location clusters and scat analysis

Martins

Horsnell

Titus³

et al. 2010

Journal of Zoology

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Studying leopards Panthera pardus in mountainous regions is challenging and there is little ecological information on their behaviour in these habitats. We used data from global positioning system (GPS) radio-collared leopards in conjunction with leopard scat analysis to identify key aspects of leopard feeding habits in the Cederberg Mountains of South Africa. We located 53 leopard kill/feeding sites from clustered GPS locations of Z4 h and analysed 93 leopard scats. Both methods showed that klipspringers Oreotragus oreotragus and rock hyraxes Procavia capensis were the most common prey. GPS location clusters showed that the time leopards spent at a given location was positively related both to the probability of detecting prey remains and to prey size. Leopards made significantly more large kills in winter than summer (P = 0.003); there was no significant difference between male and female leopards in the average number of large kills or the average time spent at large kill sites. We show that, when studying large carnivores in inaccessible areas, it is important to use a combination of techniques to understand their feeding ecology and that GPS locations can be used to provide an accurate measure of diet even when small prey are being taken.

show abstract

“…Such measures include in‐depth understanding of their feeding ecology . The diets of wild felids have been broadly explored using an array of traditional methods such as faecal analysis (e.g …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%