Brown hyaena and leopard diets on private land in the Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa

Private land comprises a large proportion of the brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) and leopard (Panthera pardus) range, and is vital to their survival (Jacobson et al., 2016; Kent & Hill, 2013). Although prey availability is often highest in protected areas, private land used for game and livestock farming also hosts an abundance of wild and domestic prey (Balme, Slotow, & Hunter, 2010; Kinnaird & O'Brien, 2012). Scavenging accounts for approximately 95% of the brown hyaena's dietary intake (Maude & Mills, 2005; Mills, 1984; Owens & Owens, 1978). Brown hyaenas depend on large carnivores such as the leopard to kill larger prey species (Mills, 2015; Slater & Muller, 2014; Stein, Fuller, & Marker, 2013). After feeding, leopards often become satiated before they can completely consume large prey animals, so they leave and return to the kill on subsequent occasions to feed further, providing ample scavenging opportunities (Karanth & Sunquist, 2000; Stein et al., 2013). Studies that compare brown hyaena diets in areas where large predators are either present or absent show significant variation in patterns of consumption and food acquisition between these regions (van der Merwe et al., 2009; Yarnell et al., 2013). The degree of dietary overlap between brown hyaenas and leopards has, however, rarely been assessed, and this has never been studied in a montane area. We assessed the dietary composition of brown hyaenas and leopards and the degree of dietary overlap between these species in the Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa. We also compared dietary composition with the relative abundance of prey species. 2 | METHODS