IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Wachter, B.; Blanc, A.-S.; Melzheimer, J.; Breitenmoser, U.; Thalwitzer, S.; Jago, M.; Lonzer, J. | |
| Determination of the Diet in a Free-Ranging Cheetah Population Living on Farmland in Namibia | |
| 2007 Conference Proceeding | |
Cheetahs on Namibian farmland are considered a threat by farmers to their economic revenues from livestock and wildlife, leading to the indiscriminate elimination of cheetahs. To help assess the economic cost of cheetahs on farmland, we determined their diet composition on the basis of faecal samples. Prey identity was determined by creating imprints of hair in faeces and comparing these with reference specimens of hairs from known prey species. Imprints were created using celluloid plates; a quick and simple method. To obtain quantitative information on diet composition the proportion of hair from different species in faeces was corrected for prey size. This calibration was determined by offering 13 captive cheetahs individuals of different prey species of known weight and collecting all faeces produced. We found a logarithmic relationship between the mass of the prey animal offered and the mass that was consumed of it to produce one faeces. Application of this calibration to faeces from free-ranging cheetahs revealed that livestock comprised only a small proportion of the cheetahs' diet. However, the diet composition strongly depended on whether cheetahs were assumed to have fed on juvenile or adult prey animals and whether prey was completely or partially consumed. |
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