FOOD-HABITS OF 3 CARNIVORE SPECIES (VIVERRICULA-INDICA, HERPESTES-URVA, AND MELOGALE-MOSCHATA) IN FUSHAN FOREST, NORTHERN TAIWAN

The food habits and degrees of dietary overlap of lesser oriental cive t (Viverricula indica), crab-eating mongoose (Herpestes urva), and fer ret badger (Melogale moschata) inhabiting the Fushan Forest, northern Taiwan, were studied using faecal analysis between February 1993 and J une 1994. Laboratory analysis of 154 civet faeces, and 174 mongoose fa eces showed that both species fed on a wide variety of food items, inc luding mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, crustaceans, insect s, oligochaetes, gastropods, chilopods, arachnids, and plants. Insects , oligochaetes, plants, and mammals were the four most important food items in the civets' diet, whereas crustaceans, insects, amphibians, a nd reptiles were the four most important food items consumed by mongoo ses. Amphibians were the only vertebrates, together with invertebrates and plants, found in the 64 ferret badger faeces we analysed, and oli gochaetes, insects, and amphibians were the most important food items consumed by ferret badgers. The diversity of diet was highest in the m ongoose, followed by the civet, and was lowest in the ferret badger. T he degree of dietary overlap was greatest between the civet and the fe rret badger, followed by that of the civet and mongoose. The mongoose and ferret badger had the lowest degree of dietary overlap. However, t he degree of dietary overlap varied in different seasons. Invertebrate s were the most important food source for the carnivores in Fushan For est.