Feeding ecology of the Ethiopian wolf in the Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 484-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mesele Yihune ◽  
Afework Bekele
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 18132-18140
Author(s):  
D. Ejigu ◽  
A. Bekele ◽  
L. Powell

Walia Ibex Capra walie is an endemic and endangered species residing in Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia.  It has shifted its range within the Park in the last decade, and in this study our main objective was to provide information on their feeding ecology to inform recovery goals.  We used a scan sampling method to collect foraging information during October 2009 to November 2011.  Our observations suggest a diverse diet of more than 28 species of grasses, forbs, and shrubs.  The most commonly used plants were Festuca sp., Lobelia rhynchopetalum, Helichrysum citrispinum, and Helichrysum horridum.  Walia Ibex were active in feeding before and after mid-day, and time spent feeding was the highest compared with other diurnal activities.  The percentage of time spent feeding on major plant species did not differ between wet and dry seasons (p> 0.05).  Walia Ibex, however, tended to spend more time browsing than grazing.  The generalist nature of foraging behaviour in Walia Ibex most likely contributes to complaints from the local people who witness Walia Ibex raiding crops cultivated in and around the Park.  Thus, the contribution of crop raiding to the shifts in the species’ range towards higher altitudes at Sebatminch within Simien Mountains National Park emphasizes the need to consider foraging ecology as community-based conservation efforts are developed to support Walia Ibex in the Park. 


Ostrich ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiwonge I Mzumara ◽  
Mike R Perrin ◽  
Colleen T Downs

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Gazzolo ◽  
Javier Barrio

Tarucas (Hippocamelus antisensis) live in rocky areas in the Andes, from northern Peru to northern Argentina. Microhistological analyses on their feeding ecology during the rainy and dry seasons were done at a National Park and a Landscape Reserve. The diet was diverse and more than 50 species were identified from the feces. Grass species were most often detected as eaten by taruca during the rainy season comprising near 70% of the consumed fragments with 35 plant species identified as eaten then. In the dry season, around 50 species were identified as eaten by tarucas, mostly dicotyledonous. The main species consumed in both seasons wereWerneria nubigena,Poa gymnantha,Senecio comosus, andEphedra americana. The ecological density was an intermediate value compared to other observed values in Peru. This is the first study to find the importance of grasses for tarucas, selected when soft, during the rainy season. A possible overlap with domestic ungulates’ diets should be explored, helping the conservation of taruca and generating an adequate management of the species and the ecosystem. There is a change in the palatable offer of food items during the rainy season, when most of the Gramineae species are tender.


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