Refined techniques for the analysis of Asiatic lion Panthera leo persica scats

Abstract

We improved the techniques for determining prey items based on hair character istics from scats of the free-ranging Asiatic lion Panthera leo persica (Meyer, 1826) in terms of accuracy and time efficiency. Cuticular characteristics of hair are similar in many Indian prey species and are not species specific. A combination of hair characteristics, e.g. hair width, medullary structure, and medulla width expressed as per cent of hair width, are most useful to identify the common mammalian prey species. We found that examination of a minimum of 20 hairs/scat and 30 scats would provide a reliable estimate o f the lion's diet based on the per cent occurrence of prey species hair in the scats.