Summer diets of wild and domestic ungulates in Nepal Himalaya

Abstract

The selection of summer forage by three sympatric ungulates in the Damodar Kunda region of upper Mustang in north Nepal was studied to assess the extent of food overlap between them. To compare their diets, a microhistological technique of faecal analysis was used, adjusted for inherent biases by comparing it with bite-count data obtained in domestic goats. Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni, naur (blue sheep or bharal) Pseudois nayaur and domestic goat Capra hircus consumed mostly forbs, graminoids and browse, respectively. The proportions of food items in their diets were significantly different both at the plant species (P < 0.02) and at the forage category level (P < 0.001). Except for sharing three common plants (Agrostis sp., Stipa sp. and Potentilla fruticosa), dietary overlap at the species level was quite low. At the forage category level, naur and domestic goat overlapped more than the other ungulate pairs. Although all three species were opportunistic, mixed feeders, argali was a more selective forb specialist grazer than the other two ungulates. Owing to some spatial separation and little dietary overlap, interspecific competition for summer forage was low. If animal densities increase, however, goats are expected to compete more with naur than with argali because of their more similar diets. Owing to differences in forage selection by argali and naur throughout their large geographical ranges, reflecting adaptations to local ecological conditions, inferences regarding forage competition between domestic livestock and these two wild caprins need to be made from local, site-specific studies, rather than from general diet comparisons.

Goat grazing, its interactions with other herbivores and biodiversity conservation issues

“…The coexistence of goats with other livestock species has been controversial as they might compete for the forage resources, while they are complementary with others, depending on multiple factors like the stocking densities, grazing behaviour of each species, vegetation, year, and season (Bartolomé, 1994;Cuartas, 1992;Rook et al, 2004;Shrestha et al, 2005). The controversy increases when they become the last available species to farmers ("the cows of the poor") and they get involved in a vicious circle.…”

“…The Tibetan argali (Ovis ammon hodgsonii Blyth, 1841) either had a separated diet selection and habitat use from domestic goats in Nepal (Shrestha et al, 2005) or overlapped in Mongolian protected areas. The livestock-argali conflicts are associated with the flourish of the cashmere fibre production, the increase in livestock numbers, herding families and improper management (Reading et al, 2006), so the reduction of both people and livestock, antipoaching activities or controlled sport hunting is suggested to arrest its decline (Reading et al, 1997).…”

“…It either spatially overlapped with livestock in Tibet (Schaller and Gu, 1994), or had both diet and habitat separation in this region and Nepal (Harris and Miller, 1995;Shrestha et al, 2005). Shah (2003) linked its decline in Nepal to hunting activities, diseases transmitted by livestock and genetic or environmental mishaps, coupled with predation by wild carnivores.…”

“…The inconsistent pattern among different studies might relay on local adaptations of the ungulates within their geographical ranges and the changes in the phenology, and hence quality, of forage plants between areas (Shrestha et al, 2005).…”

Dry season diets of sympatric ungulates in lowland Nepal: competition and facilitation in alluvial tall grasslands

“…Some researchers have pointed out the necessity of applying correction factors to accurately estimate diets by this method (Dearden et al 1975;Westoby et al 1976;Vavra and Holecheck 1980); however, Alipayo et al (1992) advocated the accuracy of the technique. In Asia, this method has successfully been applied to diet studies of rhino (Jnawali 1995), swamp deer (Pokharel 1996), takin Budorcas taxicolor (Wangchuk 1999), Asian elephant (Steinheim et al 2005) and mountain ungulates (Harris and Miller 1995;Shrestha et al 2005).…”