Diet selection of goats in the communally grazed Richtersveld National Park

Abstract

The study provided an account of the diet selection of goats within the Richtersveld National Park and focused on (a) diet composition, (b) plant growth-forms, (c) principal and preferred food plants. The conservation status of these food plants was also assessed. The diet of goats included a wide variety of plant species. A total of 87 species were recorded to be eaten by goats during winter within the National Park while 39 species were completely ignored. In this study, goats preferred herbaceous food plants. The foliage of woody browse and leaf-succulent plants became important in sites where forbs were limited. A total of 13 plant species in the diet of goats were considered to be principal food plants. Of the 32 species that were preferred, 19 species were intermediate whilst 13 species were highly preferred. The majority of plant species in the diet of goats are considered to be of low conservation priority.


Keywords: foraging; principal foods; dietary preferred plants; growth-form; Succulent Karoo


African Journal of Range & Forage Science 2002, 19(1): 1-11