Feeding preferences of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in Nepal

Abstract

BackgroundNepal provides habitat for approximately 100–125 wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Although a small proportion of the world population of this species, this group is important for maintaining the genetic diversity of elephants and conservation of biodiversity in this region. Knowledge of foraging patterns of these animals, which is important for understanding their habitat requirements and for assessing their habitat condition, is lacking for the main areas populated by elephants in Nepal. This study investigates the feeding preferences of the Asian elephant in Parsa Wildlife Reserve (PWR) and Chitwan National Park (CNP), Nepal.ResultFifty-seven species of plants in 25 families were found to be eaten by Asian elephants, including 12 species of grasses, five shrubs, two climbers, one herb and 37 species of trees. The species that contributed the greatest proportion of the elephant’s diet were Spatholobus parviflorus (20.2%), Saccharum spontaneum (7.1%), Shorea robusta (6.3), Mallotus philippensis (5.7%), Garuga pinnata (4.3%). Saccharum bengalensis (4.2%), Cymbopogan spp (3.7%), Litsea monopetala (3.6) and Phoenix humilis (2.9%). The preference index (PI) showed that browsed species were preferred during the dry season, while browsed species and grasses were both important food sources during the rainy season. Elephants targeted leaves and twigs more than other parts of plants (P < 0.05).ConclusionThis study presents useful information on foraging patterns and baseline data for elephant habitat management in the PWR and CNP in the south central region of Nepal.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12898-016-0105-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Zoo elephant research: contributions to conservation of captive and free‐ranging species

“…While numerous studies describe a variety of foodstuffs eaten by free‐ranging African and Asian elephants (Miessner et al ., ; Sukumar, ; Dierenfeld, ; Sukumar & Ramesh, ; Campos‐Arceiz et al ., ; Santra et al ., ; Koirala et al ., ), only a few authors analysed the nutrient composition of wild diets, which can provide guidelines for captive‐feeding programmes (Hatt & Clauss, ). Native elephant diets are moderate in protein content (8–12% DM), high in fibre (> 32% acid detergent fibre, 50–70% neutral detergent fibre), rather poorly digested, and often contain significant levels of secondary compounds (Dierenfeld, ).…”

“…Bark and fruits can comprise significant parts of the diet, with feeding activities consuming 50-80% of the day. There is evidence that Asian elephants may have better adaptation to diets containing higher levels of grasses compared with African elephants (Foose, 1982), but even Asian elephants are more likely to consume browse preferentially during the dry season (Koirala et al, 2016).…”

The effects of age, sex and season on the macronutrient composition of the diet of the domestic Asian elephant

“…Availability of the natural food plants was estimated using data collected from a recent survey of wild elephant foods in the area (Koirala et al 2016).…”

Detection of arboreal feeding signs by Asiatic black bears: effects of hard mast production at individual tree and regional scales

“…Feeding signs allow us to identify the food items taken by an animal and to gather information on feeding preferences, amounts, periods and sites (e.g. Koirala et al, 2016). Furthermore, feeding signs can provide information on animal distribution, habitat selection, or abundance (e.g.…”