Status distribution and feeding habit of Wild Boar Sus scrofa (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Suidae) in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The Wild Boar Sus scrofa is omnivorous, serves as the prey base for large carnivores, performs the role of a natural scavenger, and is often involved in crop raiding. The species is included in Schedule V of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, meaning hunting of the species may be allowed by the Chief Wildlife Warden in instances where individuals of the species are considered dangerous to human life or property. Faecal samples of Wild Boar in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India, were collected from January to June 2013 to assess the distribution of Wild Boar in Karmajhiri range. The density of Wild Boar in Sapath and Tikadi beat was 25.5±0.29 and 23.9±0.33 per hectare, respectively, and was the lowest in Teliya at 1.6±0.05 per hectare. Sixteen different beats were sampled and surveyed to understand the diet of Wild Boar during the winter season. Ingested items included stones, roots, grass, fruits and seeds, hairs, earthworms, flowers, and green plant material. Out of these, the most frequent item was grass, followed by roots and stones.
Article Details
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
References
Alexiou, P.N. (1983). Effect of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) on subalpine vegetation at Smokers Gap, ACT. Proceedings of the Ecological Society of Australia 12: 135–142.
Barwal, K.S. (2013). Ecology of wild pig (Sus scrofa) and human-wild pig conflict in and around Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan. PhD Thesis. Wildlife Scinces, Saurashtra University, 396pp
Baubet, E., C. Bonenfant & S. Brandt (2004). Diet of the Wild Boar in the French Alps. Galemys 16: 99–111.
Baubet, E., Y. Ropert-Coudert & S. Brandt (2003). Seasonal and annual variations in earthworm consumption by Wild Boar (Sus scrofa scrofa L.). Wildlife Research 30: 179–186.
Biswas, S. & K. Sankar (2002). Prey abundance and food habit of tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Pench National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India. Journal of Zoology 256: 411–420.
Bratton, P. (1975). The effect of the European Wild Boar, Sus scrofa, on Grey Beech Forest in the Great Smoky Mountains. Ecology 56(6): 1356–1366.
Burnham, K.P., D.R. Anderson & J.L. Laake (1980). Estimation of density from line transect sampling of biological populations. Wildlife Monographs 72: 3-202.
Coblentz, B.E. & D.W. Baber (1987). Biology and control of feral pigs on Isla Santiago, Galapagos Ecuador. Journal of Applied Ecology 24: 403–418.
Dwivedi, G.D. & R. Shukla (1988). The Pench Bison - an ecological and behavioural study. Cheetal 29(1): 28–31.
Fournier-Chambrillon, C., D. Maillard & P. Fournier. (1995). Diet of the wild boar (Sus scofa L.) inhibiting the Montpellier Garrigue. Ibex 3: 174-179
Genov, P. (1981). Food composition of Wild Boar in northeastern and western Polland. Acta Theriologica 26: 185–205.
Howe, T.D., F.J. Singer & B.B. Ackerman (1981). Forage relationships of European Wild Boar invading northern hardwood forest. Journal of Wildlife Management 45(3): 748–754.
Karanth, K.U. & J.D. Nichols (1998). Estimation of tiger densities in India using photographic captures and recaptures. Ecology 79: 2852–2862.
Kruuk, H. & T. Parish (1981). Feeding specialization of European Badger Meles meles in Scotland. Journal of Animal Ecology 50: 773–788.
Massei, G. & P.V. Genov (2004). The Environmental Impact of Wild Boar. Galemys, 16 (n0 especial): 135–145
Pasha, M.K.S., G. Areendran, K. Sankar & Q. Qureshi (2002). Debarking of Teak (Tectona grandis) Linn. F. by Gaur Bos gaurus H. Smith during summer in a tropical dry deciduous habitat of Central India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 99(2): 238–244.
Sankar, K., Q. Qureshi, M.K.S. Pasha & G. Areendran (2000). Ecology of Gaur Bos gaurus in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh. Final Report. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun, 27pp.
Shukla, R. (1990). An ecological study of interactions between wild animals and vegetation in Pench Wildlife Sanctuary and its environs. PhD Thesis, Wildlife Sciences, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar, 249pp.
Sih, A. (1993). Effect of ecological interaction of forager diet: competition, predation risk, parasitism and prey behavior. In: Hughes, R.N. (ed.). Diet Selection: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Foraging Behavior. Blackwell Scientist Publication, Oxford 82–211
Srivastava, T. & A. Khan (2009). Population status and habitat use of wild pigs Sus scrofa in Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 106(3): 298–304.
Stegeman, L.C. (1938). The European Wild Boar in the Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee. Journal of Mammalogy 19(3): 279–290.
Welander, J. (1995). Are Wild Boar a future threat to the Swedish flora? IBEX Journal of Mountain Ecology 3: 165–167.
Wood, G.W. & R.H. Barrett (1979). Status of wild pigs in the United States. Wildlife Society Bulletin 7(4): 237–246.