Feed and habitat preferences among some large herbivores on African veld.

Abstract

Impala and springbok are attracted to disturbed areas, while kudu are adaptable to degraded vegetation. Springbok, impala, nyala, warthogs, blue and white-tailed gnu prefer short grass, whereas buffalo, zebra and waterbuck prefer taller grass. Blesbok, white-tailed gnu and sheep are markedly area selective. Blue gnu, zebra, blesbok, sheep, impala, buffalo and white rhinoceri show a decided preference for burnt areas. During winter and dry periods springbok, sheep and white-tailed gnu include more karoo shrub relative to grass in their diets, and impala more savanna trees and shrubs. The diet often consists of 25 to 80 plant species, but only 10 to 20 are preferred and principal forage species. The literature indicates a large degree of overlap in the browse and graze species selected by different domestic and wild herbivores, as well as in habitat preference and feeding height. Browsers select between plant species as markedly as grazers do. Carrying capacity should be determined for different seasons. It is essential to reduce the stocking rate of grazers to account for the amount of common graze eaten by mixed feeders and browsers: similarly, that of browsers to cater for the amount of common browse eaten by the other two feeding groups.

Keywords: blesbok; browsers; buffalo; carrying capacity; feeding; feeding behaviour; forage; grass; grazers; habitat; habitat preference; herbivores; impala; karoo; kudu; large herbivores; nyala; savanna; sheep; springbok; stocking rate; warthog; waterbuck; zebra