Dietary Partitioning in Sympatric Large Carnivores in a Tropical Forest of Western Ghats, India

Sympatric large carnivores—tigers, leopards, and doles—in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats, India, coexist despite high dietary overlap (over 61%) due to the availability of diverse prey sizes. While all three predators primarily consume wild ungulates (88.4–96.7%), tigers target large prey (>50 kg), such as gaur and sambar, whereas leopards and doles favor medium-sized prey (11–50 kg), like chital, with secondary preferences for langur (leopard) and sambar (dhole). Prey surveys revealed high densities of chital (43.8 ± 10.7 individuals/km²), gaur (6.7 ± 1.5), and sambar (4.9 ± 0.96), with biomass estimates of 2058.6, 3015, and 656.6 kg/km² respectively. This study highlights how prey size partitioning mitigates competition among apex predators in tropical forests.

Ramesh, T., Kalle, R., Sankar, K., & Qureshi, Q. (2012). Dietary Partitioning in Sympatric Large Carnivores in a Tropical Forest of Western Ghats, India. Mammal Study, 37(4), 313–321. https://doi.org/10.3106/041.037.0405