Journal
ACTA THERIOLOGICA
Volume 56, Issue 4, Pages 389-392Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s13364-011-0033-1
Keywords
Crocuta crocuta; Diet; Scat; Selection; Prey preference
Categories
Funding
- Budget Rent-a-Car
- C.R. Kennedy Pty Ltd
- Eveready Batteries and Continental Tyres
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology
- South African National Parks
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We tested the widely accepted hypothesis that spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) are non-selective in their diet. The prey preference of spotted hyaena was studied in the Addo Elephant National Park (AENP), South Africa. Diet (frequency of occurrence of prey items in the diet) was quantified through the analysis of 55 scats, and compared with available prey. A combination of large-and medium-sized mammals (buffalo (Syncerus caffer), red hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) and common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) were the most preferred prey items. The most abundant species, warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), were ignored and avoided, respectively. These results show that the assumption that hyaena prey on the most abundant available prey species may be overly simplistic. Predation patterns, such as the ones observed in AENP, may have important ramifications for less common species that are selected by hyaena in small enclosed reserves.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available