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Diet of Bengal Tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

By 14th December 2017April 18th, 2018Conservation Papers

Abstract

We studied the diet of the Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, by identifying 109 prey items from 85 tiger scats. Tigers in this region fed upon eight different mammal species. Chital (Axis axis) was the major prey with a frequency of 45% of the Tigers’ diet. The occurrence of other prey species included sambar (Cervus unicolor, 23%), wild pig (Sus scrofa, 15%), hog deer (Axis porcinus, 9%), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak, 4%), and gaur (Bos gaurus, 2%). Tigers also hunted livestock, but this prey comprised a small component of the relative biomass (buffalo 5% and cow 2%). Our study suggests that the tiger depends mostly upon wild prey for its subsistence in the Chitwan National Park, but will also sporadically hunt livestock.

Bhandari, S., Chalise, M. & Pokharel, C. (2017). Diet of Bengal Tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. European Journal of Ecology, 3(1), pp. 80-84. Retrieved 28 Nov. 2017, from doi:10.1515/eje-2017-0008

2017 European Journal of Ecology. All rights reserved.