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Henschel, P.; Abernethy, K.A.; White, L.J.T.
Leopard food habits in the Lop‚ National Park, Gabon, Central Africa
2005 African Journal of Ecology (43): 21-28
To determine leopard _Panthera pardus_ (Linnaeus) food habits in the Lopeï National Park in Gabon, Central Africa, 196 leopard scats were collected and analysed. Prey items were determined using undigested matter isolated from the scats, and a reference collection of hairs and bones from potential prey species. A minimum of 30 different prey species were identified, 27 of which were mammalian. Leopards preyed mainly on ungulates, which made up 59% of the biomass consumed. Diurnal primates (18%) and large rodents (17%) were also heavily preyed upon. The mean prey weight estimated from scats was 29.2 kg. The most important single prey species was found to be red river hog _Potamochoerus porcus_ (Linnaeus), making up 20% of the biomass consumed, followed by forest buffalo _Syncerus caffer nanus_ (Boddaert) and cane rat _Thryonomys swinderianus_ (Temminck), each comprising 13% of biomass consumed.
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