Diet of leopards and golden cats in Ndoki Park, Republic of Congo

Includes bibliographical references (pages [45]-48)Leopard {Panthera pardus) and golden cat (Profelis aurata) scat, and mammalian track data were collected along logging roads in Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo. Prey species were identified by comparing scat contents with material from the mammal collection of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. Relative volumes and frequencies of occurrence of prey were determined for each felid scat. Prey size partitioning between these cats was found, with leopards consuming substantially larger prey than golden cats. Dietary analyses of both felids and tracking data show that all have high diversity indices which do not differ significantly, supporting the view that these cats hunt opportunistically. The niche overlap index was 67%, due mainly to prey less than 5 kg. Evidence did not suggest that these felids select for the largest available prey. While golden cats generally consumed more arboreal prey than leopards, arboreal prey was an important dietary component for both.M.S. (Master of Science