behind the big cat's and bear's, who is the top predator?

[Dr Panthera]

(11-04-2015, 10:32 PM)Pckts Wrote: If you want to use these numbers as 1% for tiger prey choices, you need to not include areas where guar, water buffalo, elephant and rhino do not exist.
Areas such as Bandharvgh, Bandipur, Kahna, Tadoba, Kaziranga, etc. These predations are much higher, just take a look through the tiger predation thread. You will tons of Guar predations there in the areas they exist of course. Using examples in areas where they don't exist would be incorrect for determining a predation %

But overall, of course they will hunt the easiest and most available prey to them.

Absolutely in areas where the animals do not occur, occur at a low density, or occupy different habitat it will not be worth it for a predator to search for that prey, Chitwan tigers are among the largest cats in the world yet they do not waste energy searching for the rare gaur and target the largest reasonable prey sambar, not elephants or rhinos those are obviously rarely taken.
Tiger predation on gaur is interesting in southern India and it is the only area where gaur contribute a significant amount to the biomass eaten by tiger in the Indian subcontinent ( more than 20%), Matt Hayward provides a great analysis of the feeding ecology of tigers , and even in Bandipur and Narahole Sambar is the preferred prey as it is available, relatively easily killed , and provides a decent amount of food.it is taken more than its availability, gaur is not.
The entire world population of gaur is less than 30,000 , of wild water buffalo 4,000 and of banteng is 8000 ( IUCN) compare that with 1.5-2 million Cape buffalo,it is not that tigers are not capable bovid hunters, of course they are, it is just that the most available prey to them across their range are wild boar, chital, muntjac, and sambar ...other prey are mostly localized and generally secondary.
I am sad to see a decline in the red deer population in the Russian Far East as this could further diminish the poor prey base in the area. Reply