Diet of Bengal #Tigers
in Chitwan National Park, #Nepal

Bengal tiger is one of the #toppredators of the forest and grassland ecosystems. Historically, tigers were distributed across the lowland Himalayan forests, but now exist only in the lowland forests on the slopes of the Siwalik range (< 1000 m) and among the rich alluvial grasslands and riverine forests in a series of valleys. Authors studied the diet of the Bengal tigers in Chitwan National Park, Nepal using scat analysis. 

Bhandari, S., Chalise, M. & Pokharel, C. (2017). Diet of Bengal Tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. European Journal of Ecology, 3(1), pp. 80-84. doi:10.1515/eje-2017-0008

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Tigers in Chitwan NP fed upon eight different #mammal species. Chital was the major prey with a frequency of 45% of the Tigers' diet. The occurrence of other prey species included sambar (23%), wild pig (15%), hog deer ( 9%), barking deer (4%), and gaur (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.

Wikipedia / Tobias Klenze /  CC-BY-SA 4.0