Open AccessDiet of Leopards Panthera pardus fusca inhabiting protected areas and human-dominated landscapes in Goa, India
Author(s) -
Bipin S. Phal Desai,
Avelyno H. D’Costa,
M.K. PraveenKumar,
S.K. Shyama
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of threatened taxa
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.264
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 0974-7907
pISSN - 0974-7893
DOI - 10.11609/jott.4618.13.9.19239-19245
Subject(s) - leopard , panthera , predation , domestication , biology , zoology , wildlife , ecology , geography
The diet of leopards occupying human-dominated and protected areas (PAs) in Goa, India was analyzed through scat analysis. A total of 117 scats, 55 from wildlife sanctuaries/ national parks and 62 from human-dominated areas were collected and analyzed. Analysis of 55 scats from protected forest revealed the presence of only wild prey in the leopard diet, whereas 61% of scats collected from human-dominated areas consisted of only wild prey, 29% of domesticated animals, and 10% a mixture of both wild prey & domesticated animals. Of the prey biomass consumed in human-dominated areas, domestic animals constituted only 33% of the leopard diet. Among all leopard scats, 71% contained only one prey species, 28% contained two species, and 1% contained three.