REFINED TECHNIQUES FOR THE ANALYSIS OF ASIATIC LION PANTHERA LEO PERSICA SCATS

We improved the techniques for determining prey items based on hair ch aracteristics from seats of the free-ranging Asiatic lion Panthera leo persica. (Meyer, 1826) in terms of accuracy and time efficiency. Cuti cular characteristics of hair are similar in many Indian prey species and are not species specific. A combination of hair characteristics, e .g. hair width, medullary structure, and medulla width expressed as pe r cent of hair width, are most useful to identify the common mammalian prey species. We found that examination of a minimum of 20 hairs/scat and 30 seats would provide a reliable estimate of the lion's diet bas ed on the per cent occurrence of prey species hair in the seats.