IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Kumbhojkar, S.; Yosef, R.; Kosicki, J.Z.; Kwiatkowska, P.K.; Tryjanowski, P. | |
| Dependence of the leopard _Panthera pardus fusca_ in Jaipur, India, on domestic animals | |
| 2021 Oryx (55): 692-698 | |
The ecology and predator-prey dynamics of large felids in the tropics have largely been studied in natural systems where wild ungulates constitute the majority of the prey base. However, in tropical countries where communities are primarily agrarian, the high density of domestic animals in human-dominated landscapes can be a potential prey source for large carnivores. We demonstrate almost complete dependence of the Vulnerable leopard _Panthera pardus fusca_ in the Jhalana Reserve Forest in Jaipur, north-west India on domestic animals as prey. We analysed 132 leopard scats collected during the dry season of November 2017-April 2018. Domestic animals comprised the majority of the leopards' prey (89.5% frequency of occurrence): dogs _Canis lupus familiaris_ (44%), cats _Felis catus_ (13%), goats _Capra aegagrus hircus_ (16%) and cattle _Bos taurus_ (15%). Wild species, which occurred in the leopards' diet at a relatively low frequency, were rodents, the hare _Lepus nigricollis_, small Indian civet _Viverricula indica_, rhesus macaque _Macaca mulatta_, northern plains grey langur _Semnopithecus entellus_ and mongoose _Herpestes edwardsii_. Diet is also a function of availability of potential prey, but no data are available on the density of the leopard's wild prey species in Jhalana Reserve Forest. Nevertheless, our results suggest that abundance of domestic prey around Jhalana Reserve Forest sustains the c. 25 known leopards. We conclude that these leopards, by preying on feral dogs in an urban environment, could be considered as suppliers of a service to the human population amongst whom they thrive, although this potentially exposes the leopards to the canine distemper virus. |
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