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Certificate - Etheses - Saurashtra University

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of differences in food available (Ohdachi and Aoi, 1987). They also reported<br />

consumption of mushrooms by brown bear and a seasonal variation in the frequency<br />

occurrence of mushrooms in scats in Hokkaido though its estimated volume was low.<br />

Availability of most of the other food items of brown bear was between March and<br />

October months. Food plants: Capsella bursa pastoris, Chenopodium album,<br />

Fragaria nubicola and Taraxacum officinale were available throughout March/April<br />

to September/October, except Rumex nepalensis which was available till November.<br />

Brown bears were observed digging and feeding on this plant extensively before<br />

hibernation. Variety of food plants such as Chaerophyllum reflexum, Napeta<br />

laevigata, Origanum vulgare, Potentilla argyrophylla, Impatiens scabrida, Stachys<br />

melissaefolia, Stellaria media and Typhonum seginatum were available as food plants<br />

during May to September. Ants and insects were consumed by bears from the time of<br />

emergence after hibernation. Livestock, sheep and goat, were present in large<br />

numbers from May till October when nomadic graziers visited the sanctuary area. The<br />

presence of remnants of different food items in the scats of bears were directly<br />

correlated with the availability of food items in different months in Kugti wildlife<br />

sanctuary.<br />

On the contrary, the summer food habits of brown bears investigated in Kekexili<br />

Nature Reserve, Quinghai-Tibetan plateau, China indicated that brown bears were<br />

primarily carnivorous plateau; their diet was mainly constituted of pika (Ochotona<br />

curzoniae), wild yak (Bos grunniens), and Tibetan antelope in that region (Xu et al.,<br />

2006). Vegetable matter also occurred in bear feces. Food habits of grizzly bears in<br />

the Yellowstone area of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho revealed that ungulates<br />

64

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