Prey and estimated food consumption of African wild dogs in Kenya

Publication Date

1995

Journal or Book Title

South African Journal Of Wildlife Research

Abstract

During 1990, two radio-marked packs of Lycaon pictus were monitored at three different times for 6-25 days each in the Masai Mara area of SW Kenya to estimate prey consumption rates. Male Thomson's gazelles Gazella thomsoni and young wildebeests Connochaetes taurinus were the most common prey. During either a morning (n = 19) or evening (n = 26) monitoring session, some packs did not hunt (11-45% of sessions) or hunted unsuccessfully (60-100% success/session). Packs sometimes lost part or all of a kill (0-27% of kills) to avian or mammalian scavengers. Minimum estimated consumption rates for all three packs (0.08-0.20 kg prey/kg dog/day) seemed to reflect, at a minimum, variation in hunting success, age of pups, and competition with other species (related to pack size).

Volume

25

Issue

3

Pages

106-110

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