We used radiocollars and GPS collars to determine the movements and habitat selection of golden jackals (Canis aureus) in a seasonally dry deciduous forest with no human settlements in eastern Cambodia. We also collected and analyzed 147 scats from jackals to determine their seasonal diet and prey selection. The mean (± SE) annual size of home-range ranges (47.1 ± 2.5 km2; n = 4), which were mutually exclusive between mated pairs, was considerably larger than that previously reported for this species, resulting in an extremely low density (0.01 jackal/km2). The unusually large home ranges and low density probably were due to the harsh dry season when most understory vegetation is burned and nearly all waterholes dry up, thereby causing a large seasonal decline in the availability of small vertebrate prey. Resident groups consisted of an alpha pair, but no betas, and were situated only in areas not occupied by leopards (Panthera pardus) and dholes (Cuon alpinus). Jackals avoided dense forests and streams, and had a strong selection for dirt roads, possibly to avoid larger predators. Overall the jackal diet was diverse, with at least 16 prey items identified, and there was no significant difference in diet composition between the cool-dry and hot-dry seasons. Scat analysis showed that the main food items consumed by jackals were processional termites (Hospitalitermes spp.; 26% biomass consumed), followed by wild pig (Sus scrofa; 20%), muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis; 20%), and civets (17%). Compared to available biomass, jackals were not random in their consumption of ungulates because muntjac were selectively consumed over larger ungulate species. Dietary overlap with dholes and leopards was relatively low, and consumption patterns indicated jackals were preying on ungulates rather than scavenging from kills of larger carnivores. Our results showed that the jackal is an extremely adaptable and opportunistic species that exhibits unique behaviors to survive in an extreme environment near the edge of its distribution.

中文翻译：

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柬埔寨东部平原景观中金豺的栖息地、栖息地选择、密度和饮食

我们使用无线电项圈和 GPS 项圈来确定金豺 (Canis aureus) 在柬埔寨东部没有人类住区的季节性干燥落叶林中的活动和栖息地选择。我们还收集并分析了 147 只豺狼的粪便，以确定它们的季节性饮食和猎物选择。家庭范围的平均 (± SE) 年大小 (47.1 ± 2.5 km2; n = 4)，在交配对之间是相互排斥的，比以前报告的该物种大得多，导致密度极低。 0.01 豺狼/km2)。异常大的家庭范围和低密度可能是由于严酷的旱季，当时大多数下层植被被烧毁，几乎所有水坑都干涸，从而导致小型脊椎动物猎物的可用性大幅季节性下降。居民组由一个阿尔法对组成，但没有贝塔，并且仅位于豹子（Panthera pardus）和野狗（Cuon alpinus）未占据的区域。豺狼避开茂密的森林和溪流，对土路有很强的选择，可能是为了避开更大的捕食者。总的来说，豺狼的饮食是多样化的，至少有 16 种猎物被识别出来，冷干季节和干热季节之间的饮食成分没有显着差异。粪便分析表明，豺狼消耗的主要食物是游行白蚁（Hospitalitermes spp.；消耗 26% 的生物量），其次是野猪（Sus scrofa；20%）、麂（Muntiacus 阴道；20%）和果子狸（17 %）。与可用的生物量相比，豺狼对有蹄类动物的消费并不是随机的，因为麂是选择性消费的，而不是较大的有蹄类动物。与豺狼和豹的饮食重叠相对较低，消费模式表明豺狼捕食有蹄类动物，而不是捕食大型食肉动物。我们的研究结果表明，豺狼是一种适应性极强且机会主义的物种，它表现出独特的行为，可以在其分布边缘附近的极端环境中生存。