Wolf (Canis lupus)

[TheNormalGuy]

Food Habits of Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) in Deccan Plateau of Maharashtra, India

Kamlesh Maurya

Bilal Habib

Satish Kumar

Abstract

Food habits of the Indian wolf, Canis lupus pallipes, were studied in Rehekhuri Blackbuck Sanctuary, Maharashtra, India during 2005. Prey items eaten by wolves were identified from scats. Most scats contain single prey item and minimum number of scats required to quantify the food habits of wolves was estimated to be 150-160. Proportion of biomass contributed by different prey species in the diet of wolves was calculated from their frequency of occurrence by using correction factor in equation Y= 0.0182X+0.217. Blackbuck contributed 25.90 kg, followed by sheep 11.62 kg, goat 8.99 kg, hare 1.19 kg and rodent 0.09 kg per 100 scats to the biomass. Majority of scats (95.1%) contained single prey item, while two (4.6%) or more prey items (0.3%) occurred rarely. Annual prey diversity in diet was estimated at 2.08 using Shannon-Weiner Index, with seasonal differences in the frequency of occurrence of different food items (G test statistic 30.2, df14, P <0.01). Reducing dependence of wolf on domestic livestock is a challenge for the managers to seek continuous survival of wolves in such human dominated landscape. 

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Table 2- Prey represented in 303 scats of Rehekhuri Wolf Pack, Maharashtra, India during 2005, together with estimated biomass and number of prey consumed.


Link to the study : Food Habits of Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) in Deccan Plateau of Maharashtra, India

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