Identification of
hairs of some mammalian prey of large cats in GirProtected Area, India
Nishith Dharaiya1 & V.C. Soni 2
1,2 Department
of Biosciences, Saurashtra University, Rajkot,
Gujarat 360005 India
Present address: 1 Department of
Life Sciences, Hemchanracharya, North Gujarat
University, Patan, Gujarat384265 India
Email: 1 nadharaiya@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 vcsoni2009@gmail.com
Date of publication (online): 26 August 2012
Date of publication (print): 26 August 2012
ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: ShomitaMukherjee
Manuscript details:
Ms #
o3032
Received 12 December 2011
Final received 14 May 2012
Finally accepted 30 July 2012
Citation: Nishith Dharaiya & V.C. Soni (2012). Identification of hairs of some mammalian prey of large cats in Gir Protected Area, India. Journal
of Threatened Taxa 4(9): 2928–2932.
Copyright: © Nishith Dharaiya & V.C. Soni2012. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 UnportedLicense. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this
article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by
providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Acknowledgements: We express our thanks to the Zoo
Superintendents of Sakkarbaug Zoo, Junagadh and Rajkot Zoo, Rajkot for providing the hair
specimens. Thanks are also due to
the Head, Department of Biosciences, SaurashtraUniversity, Rajkot for the necessary lab
facilities. The help of Dr. Vimal Bhuva in taking
microphotographs is also acknowledged.
For figures,
images, tables -- click here
The GirProtected Area (GPA) is spread over 1412km2 in western India; where
two top carnivore species coexist viz. the Asiatic Lion Panthera leo persicaand Leopard Panthera pardus. GPA ranks amongst the top regions
in supporting very high large carnivore densities in India. It is important to know the diet of
these two sympatric cat species since both are apex predators and also of
conservation importance. One of the
best methods to determine the prey species of carnivores is scat analysis,
since scats contain undigested matter of prey like hair, hooves, quills and
feathers that can be used for identification (Joslin1973; Johnsingh 1983; Norton et al. 1986; Sinha 1987; Chellam 1993;
Mukherjee et al. 1994 a,b; Singh et al. 1999).
In the present work the hair structure of
those animals identified as the chief prey base of both the carnivores was
studied (Dharaiya 2001; Dharaiya& Soni 2010). The practical
applications of hair identification in biological and forensic sciences have
been enumerated by several investigators (Brunner & Coman 1974; Koppikar & Sabnis 1976; Rajaram & Menon 1985). Hair identification is also useful in identifying a mammal inhabiting a
den or a tree as well as in surveys (Dharaiya2001). Hair remains also serve as evidence in convicting a law violator and is also
useful in wildlife forensic cases where the legality of confiscated material
can be determined (Soni et al. 2003). Though molecular tools are a far more
reliable option for species confirmation this method is very easy and handy and
hence applicable for preliminary investigations.
The purpose of this project is to provide
a set of illustrations of the structure of mammalian hair that can be used to
make visual comparisons with unknown hair samples. All the characteristics are
tabulated. Major macroscopic
and microscopic distinguishing characters of the hair of each species are given
along with their drawings prepared from microphotographs, which can be used in
routine monitoring activities by the forest field staff. They can also serve as a quick tool to
study the diet and prey preference of these two large cats in the Gir ecosystem.
Methods: The hair samples of the prey species were
collected from the Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden, Junagadh and from the Municipal Corporation Zoo,
Rajkot. The hair samples were
collected from the rump portion of the animal. The specimens were carefully washed in
running water and air-dried. Cross
sections were taken using a sharp blade and imprints were taken by placing hair
specimens on thin gelatin layer or on a layer of KoresCorrecting Fluid as described by Soni et al.
(2003). The permanent mountings of
hair cross sections were observed under a light binocular microscope under the
magnification of 10X as well as 45X and microphotographs were taken at 45X
magnification. All the measurements
of hair length and width were taken using micrometer.
Results and Discussion: The structural parts of the hair are the
cuticle, cortex and medulla. In the
system of hair identification to be outlined only cuticularand medullary structure are important (Rajaram & Menon 1975). Table 1 and 2 show all the structural details (macroscopic and microscopic)
of the hair specimen of those animals, which are the chiefly consumed as food
by the big carnivore species of the said protected area (Singh et al. 1999; Dharaiya 2001). Species identification through the hair cuticularpatterns while studying diet can lead to misidentification because the cuticle
is often damaged while passing through the gut of the predator. The identification criteria and the
microphotographs presented here can serve as suitable reference for further
confirmation and rapid identification of prey of carnivores (Chellam 1993; Singh et al. 1999; Dharaiya2001). Regular monitoring of both
large felids in Gir and their prey is a priority in
management by the forest department; hence identification of hairs from scats
may serve as a rapid, inexpensive and practical technique which would help the
field staff as well as the researchers. Further, the photographs presented in this paper illustrate the
microscopic appearance of the hair cross sections under 40X magnification,
which can be used as a reference for further studies in monitoring carnivore
feeding pattern and prey base identification.
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