Food plants and feeding habits of ungulates at Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2022/v148i10/159953Keywords:
Ungulate, Food habits, Mixed feeder, Panna Tiger Reserve, Browse, IVI.Abstract
The food and feeding habits of ungulates present in the Panna Tiger Reserve were studied by direct field observations from January 2019 to May 2019.The aim of the study was to explore the composition of the diet, preferable plant species, and variation in diet consumption among five sympatric ungulate species i.e. Chital (Axis axis), Sambar (Rusa unicolor), Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), Chinkara (Gazella bennettii), Chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis). The Important Value Index of all the food plants was calculated to check the availability of food plants. The results showed that the diet of ungulates consisted of diverse species of plants. Ungulates were seen feeding on 89 specie out of which 53 are tree species and 36 are herb and shrub species. Plant species were belonging to 28 families with 21% contributing from Poaceae, and 12% from Rubiaceae. The results are based on 255 observations of sambar, 295 observations of chital, 341 observations of nilgai, 219 observations of chinkara, and 69 observations of chousingha. Plants provide a healthy environment for Herbivores as they are solely dependent on them for food.References
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