Social organisation and population structure of ungulates in a dry tropical forest in western India (Mammalia, Artiodactyla)
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Sumanta Bagchi
Abstract
Grouping characteristics and population structure of chital (Axis axis Erxleben), sambar (Cervus unicolor Kerr), nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus Pallas) and chinkara (Gazella bennetti Sykes) were studied in dry tropical forests of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in semi-arid western India during November 2000 to April 2001. Mean and typical group sizes were highest for chital (winter: 4.7 and 9.2, respectively; summer: 4.5, 7.9), followed by sambar (winter: 3.4, 4.2; summer: 4.2, 6.8), nilgai (winter: 2.9, 4.5; summer: 2.5, 4.9) and chinkara (winter: 2.6, 3.3; summer: 2.5, 3.2). Population structure was biased towards females in chital (86.4 males: 100 females) and sambar (83.2:100), while it was biased towards males in nilgai (116.8:100) and chinkara (119.8:100). Ratio of young to adult females was highest for sambar (38.2 young: 100 females), followed by chinkara (35.2:100), chital (28.0:100) and nilgai (23.9:100). Variations in grouping patterns according to habitat and season have been investigated. The importance of constant monitoring of ungulate population structure is emphasised for this drought prone region.
©2008 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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- Social organisation and population structure of ungulates in a dry tropical forest in western India (Mammalia, Artiodactyla)
- Characteristics of winter roosts of bat species in southern Finland
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Articles in the same Issue
- Afrotherian mammals: a review of current data
- Terrestrial mammal responses to edges in Amazonian forest patches: a study based on track stations
- Comparative karyology of Palearctic marmots (Marmota, Sciuridae, Rodentia)
- Hair structure of small rodents from central Argentina: A tool for species identification
- Social organisation and population structure of ungulates in a dry tropical forest in western India (Mammalia, Artiodactyla)
- Characteristics of winter roosts of bat species in southern Finland
- Karyotype divergence between two subspecies of the typical striped grass mouse Lemniscomys striatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Rodentia, Muridae)
- Book reviews
