Open Access
How to translate text using browser tools
1 September 2011 Fine-scale spatio-temporal variation in tiger Panthera tigris diet: effect of study duration and extent on estimates of tiger diet in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
Paul M. Kapfer, Henry M. Streby, Bhim Gurung, Achara Simcharoen, Charles C. McDougal, James L. D. Smith
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Attempts to conserve declining tiger Panthera tigris populations and distributions have experienced limited success. The poaching of tiger prey is a key threat to tiger persistence; a clear understanding of tiger diet is a prerequisite to conserve dwindling populations. We used unpublished data on tiger diet in combination with two previously published studies to examine fine-scale spatio-temporal changes in tiger diet relative to prey abundance in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, and aggregated data from the three studies to examine the effect that study duration and the size of the study area have on estimates of tiger diet. Our results correspond with those of previous studies: in all three studies, tiger diet was dominated by members of Cervidae; small to medium-sized prey was important in one study. Tiger diet was unrelated to prey abundance, and the aggregation of studies indicates that increasing study duration and study area size both result in increased dietary diversity in terms of prey categories consumed, and increasing study duration changed which prey species contributed most to tiger diet. Based on our results, we suggest that managers focus their efforts on minimizing the poaching of all tiger prey, and that future studies of tiger diet be of long duration and large spatial extent to improve our understanding of spatio-temporal variation in estimates of tiger diet.

Paul M. Kapfer, Henry M. Streby, Bhim Gurung, Achara Simcharoen, Charles C. McDougal, and James L. D. Smith "Fine-scale spatio-temporal variation in tiger Panthera tigris diet: effect of study duration and extent on estimates of tiger diet in Chitwan National Park, Nepal," Wildlife Biology 17(3), 277-285, (1 September 2011). https://doi.org/10.2981/10-127
Received: 6 December 2010; Accepted: 1 June 2011; Published: 1 September 2011
KEYWORDS
Chitwan National Park
faecal analysis
Felidae
food habits
Nepal
niche breadth
Panthera tigris
Back to Top