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Certificate - Etheses - Saurashtra University

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and their study also revealed that diet varied from year to year during May, September<br />

and October, and was most diverse during August. In Front Range of Banff national<br />

park, food habits were studied by Hamer and Herrero (1987b) during 1976-1980 and<br />

their study revealed that horsetails (E. arvense) were the main food of grizzly bears<br />

during summer. Graminoids (grasses, sedges and rushes) were another major food<br />

component of the grizzly bears from May through September. Their study also<br />

indicated that ants (Formicidae) occurred frequently in the bears’ diet. All species of<br />

bears, except polar bears (Ursus maritimus), feed on insects, especially ants. In this<br />

chapter, we envisaged to study food habits of brown bear in Kugti wildlife sanctuary.<br />

4.2 Methods<br />

The food habits of Himalayan brown bear were determined by analyzing scat samples<br />

and direct observations on feeding activities and signs. Brown bears were seen<br />

actively feeding during the day time. Diet composition and seasonal variation were<br />

studied during the years 2002-2004.<br />

4.2.1 Collection of scats<br />

From April 2002 to December 2004, scats were collected from different parts of Kugti<br />

wildlife sanctuary, though systematic collection technique was not feasible in the<br />

mountainous and often rugged terrain. Scats were mainly collected while walking on<br />

the 22 transects. Scats were also collected from areas other than transects.<br />

Photograph 7, 8 and 11 show collections of bear scat in Kugti wildlife sanctuary. All<br />

50

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