Premium
Seasonal diet and prey selection of black‐backed jackals on a small‐livestock farm in S outh A frica
Author(s) -
Kamler Jan F.,
Klare Unn,
Macdonald David W.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
african journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.499
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1365-2028
pISSN - 0141-6707
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2012.01324.x
Subject(s) - predation , biology , livestock , zoology , biomass (ecology) , ecology
The extent to which black‐backed jackals ( C anis mesomelas ) selectively consume domestic sheep ( O vis aries ) compared to wild prey is unknown. Using faecal analysis and prey surveys, we determined the seasonal diet and prey selection of jackals on a small‐livestock farm in S outh A frica. Sheep comprised 25–48% of the biomass consumed by jackals across seasons, and consumption peaked during the lambing seasons, indicating sheep often were the main food resource for jackals. Another main food resource was wild ungulates <50 kg, primarily springbok ( A ntidorcas marsupialis ) and steenbok ( R aphicerus campestris ), which comprised 8–47% of the biomass consumed. Other important food items were mammals 1–3 kg (4–16%), which included hares ( L epus spp.) and springhares ( P edetes capensis ), and small rodents (10–14%). Compared to the biomass available, jackals selectively consumed mammals 1–3 kg over sheep across all seasons, whereas wild ungulates <50 kg were selectively consumed over sheep in most seasons. Our results showed that jackals selectively consumed different food items throughout the year and that wild prey were consistently selected over sheep.