Prey selection by the Indian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) outside protected areas in Indias Western Ghats: implications for conservation

Abstract

As habitat loss and fragmentation increase globally, biodiversity conservation approaches are increasingly being implemented at the landscape scale to maintain metapopulations of endangered species. The present study investigated the food habits of tiger Panthera tigris in the less protected reserve forests of Begur Range, a wildlife corridor in the Malenad–Mysore Tiger Landscape (MMTL) in India's Western Ghats. Fifty scat samples were collected and analyzed to determine the diet composition. The study recorded seven tiger prey species from the study area. The percentage composition of different prey species revealed that chital (Axis axis) constitutes 63.15% of the overall diet, whereas sambar (Rusa unicolor) and gaur (Bos gaurus) constituted 26.33% each. Contrary to our prediction, the relative biomass of different prey species showed that chital, sambar, and gaur constituted 95% of the overall diet. The presence of small prey species such as the Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix india) and small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) indicates opportunistic hunting behaviour and diverse prey selection by tigers. This study highlights the significance of areas outside the protected area network for conserving large carnivores and ecosystem processes associated with them in the Western Ghats global biodiversity hotspot.