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Lions select larger prey in a restored Central African protected area
  • +1
  • Chiara Fraticelli,
  • Abdoulaye Zayed,
  • Herwig Leirs,
  • Hans Bauer
Chiara Fraticelli
University of Antwerp
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Abdoulaye Zayed
African Parks Network
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Herwig Leirs
University of Antwerp
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Hans Bauer
University of Oxford

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

Lions and their prey are threatened across most of their range but especially in West and Central Africa. Prey availability influences carnivore densities, social structure, prey preference and home ranges, and changes in prey are important for carnivore management. Scarcity of large prey in many West and Central African ecosystems has been described as leading to a preference for hunting smaller prey in smaller groups. Here we investigated the changes in prey selection of lions in Zakouma National Park (Chad), a restored protected area in Central Africa, by collecting feeding data through opportunistic observations and GPS cluster points of lion collars. Compared to pre-restoration data, lions preferred larger prey and fed in larger groups. Our results show that diet shifts due to prey losses can be reversed with restoration of the ecosystem, and we speculate that this may be true across large carnivores and across regions.
07 Feb 2024Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
20 Mar 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
28 May 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
26 Jun 20241st Revision Received
10 Jul 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
10 Jul 2024Editorial Decision: Accept