Food habits and temporal activity patterns of the Golden Jackal Canis aureus and the Jungle Cat <i>Felis chaos</i> in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

The food habits and temporal activity patterns of the Golden Jackal Canis aureus and the Jungle Cat Felis chaus were studied between January 2008 and June 2009 in Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR), Madhya Pradesh. A total of 50 jackal scats and 85 jungle cat scats were collected where-ever encountered in the study area. Information on activity pattern was obtained using camera traps. Fifty-two pair self-triggered analog cameras were deployed in each 2 x 2 km² across the study area (> 250 km²) close to animal trails which were set to work on a continuous 24 hour period. Rodents contributed maximum in the diet of these two species (65% golden jackal scats and 56% jungle cat scats). Eight thousand five hundred and sixty camera-trap nights revealed 189 jungle cat captures and 49 golden jackal captures. The activity of golden jackal had a more homogeneous distribution in time. Present study showed that although some degree of overlap is observed between the two sympatric species, an overall difference in dietary composition and activity patterns enabled them to coexist in PTR.