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Bhandari, S.; Chalise, M.K.; Pokharel, C.P.
Diet of Bengal tigers (_Panthera tigris tigris_) in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
2017 European Journal of Ecology (3): 80-84
We studied the diet of the Bengal tigers (_Panthera tigris tigris_) in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, by identifying 109 prey items from 85 tiger scats. Tigers in this region fed upon eight different mammal species. Chital (_Axis axis_) was the major prey with a frequency of 45% of the Tigers' diet. The occurrence of other prey species included sambar (_Cervus unicolor_, 23%), wild pig _(Sus scrofa_, 15%), hog deer (_Axis porcinus_, 9%), barking deer (_Muntiacus muntjak_, 4%), and gaur (_Bos gaurus_, 2%). Tigers also hunted livestock, but this prey comprised a small component of the relative biomass (buffalo 5% and cow 2%). Our study suggests that the tiger depends mostly upon wild prey for its subsistence in the Chitwan National Park, but will also sporadically hunt livestock.
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