The Sundarbans is the only mangrove habitat in the world to support tigers Panthera tigris, whose persistence there is believed to be dependent on a very limited number of prey species. Conservation managers therefore need to understand how tigers utilise available prey species on a spatial scale in order to formulate a prey-based protection strategy for this global-priority tiger landscape. A total of 512 scat samples were collected during a survey of 1984 km2 of forest across 4 sample blocks in the 6017 km2 of the Bangladesh Sundarbans. Analysis of scat composition and prey remains reliably identified 5 major prey species, of which spotted deer Axis axis and wild pig Sus scrofa contributed a cumulative biomass of 89% to tiger diet. Tiger preference for prey species was highly skewed towards spotted deer and wild pig, but the relative contribution of these 2 species differed significantly across the 4 study areas, which spanned the Sundarbans, demonstrating important spatial patterns of tiger prey preference across the Sundarbans landscape. Given the comparatively limited number of prey species available to support the dwindling tiger population, different strategies are needed in different parts of the Sundarbans to support tiger populations and to protect spotted deer and wild pig populations from unabated poaching.

中文翻译：

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孟加拉孙德尔本斯老虎对猎物偏好的空间差异表明需要定制策略来保护猎物种群

Sundarbans 是世界上唯一一个支持虎 Panthera tigris 的红树林栖息地，据信它们在那里的生存依赖于数量非常有限的猎物。因此，保护​​管理者需要了解老虎如何在空间尺度上利用可用的猎物物种，以便为这一全球优先的老虎景观制定基于猎物的保护策略。在对孟加拉国孙德尔本斯 6017 平方公里的 4 个样本区块的 1984 平方公里森林进行调查期间，共收集了 512 个粪便样本。粪便成分和猎物遗骸的分析可靠地确定了 5 种主要猎物，其中斑鹿轴轴和野猪 Sus scrofa 为老虎饮食贡献了 89% 的累积生物量。老虎对猎物的偏好高度偏向于花鹿和野猪，但是这 2 个物种的相对贡献在跨越孙德尔本斯的 4 个研究区域中存在显着差异，表明了整个孙德尔本斯景观中老虎猎物偏好的重要空间模式。鉴于可用于支持日益减少的老虎种群的猎物数量相对有限，孙德尔本斯的不同地区需要采取不同的策略来支持老虎种群并保护斑点鹿和野猪种群免受有增无减的偷猎。