CRABS POTAMONAUTES-PERLATUS IN THE DIET OF OTTER AONYX-CAPENSIS AND WATER MONGOOSE ATILAX-PALUDINOSUS IN A FRESH-WATER HABITAT IN SOUTH-AFRICA

Studied the feeding ecology of sympatric Cape clawless otter and water mongoose at the Olifants River, Cape Province. Crab was an important prey in the diet of both species and faecal analysis was used to deter mine the extent of dietary overlap. Mean crab size taken by water mong oose was larger than that taken by otters. Fish was the second most im portant prey in the diet of otters, whereas terrestrial prey comprised a major part of the diet of the water mongoose. Different foraging pa tterns of the predators and habitat selection by crabs of different si zes could explain the observed variation.