Prey selection, food habits and dietary overlap between leopardPanthera pardus(Mammalia: Carnivora) and re-introduced tigerPanthera tigris(Mammalia: Carnivora) in a semi-arid forest of Sariska Tiger Reserve, Western India

After the extermination of tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Western India in 2004, three tigers were re-introduced in Sariska during 2008–2009. The present study examined the prey selection and dietary overlap between leopard and tiger after re-introduction of tiger in the study area. Scat analysis revealed the presence of nine prey species in leopard scat (n = 90 scats) and five prey species in tiger scats (n = 103 scats). Percentage frequency of occurrence of sambar (45.5%) was found to be the highest followed by chital (15.2%) > nilgai (8.9%) > cattle (7.1%) > common langur (6.3%) > peafowl (6.3%) > rodent (5.4%) > wild pig (2.7%) and hare (2.7%) in leopard diet. In the diet of tiger, sambar contributed maximum (41.7%) followed by chital (26.2%), cattle (19.4%), nilgai (10.7%) and common langur (1.9%). The present study revealed that both the predator utilized and preferred prey species in similar way, though there was difference in selection of prey species in terms of sex and age class as observed by kill records. The dietary overlap between leopard and tiger was found to be 94%. The results suggested considerable overlap between the two carnivores along diet axis.