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Abstract.- The fecal pellets of Hystrix indica were collected from the agricultural lands of Malir in the suburbs of Karachi. Hystrix indica mainly fed on agricultural crops including vegetables and fruit rather than xeric vegetation. Diet of Porcupine was observed to vary and comprised of 66.7% vegetable matter. Tuber/roots, leaves /stem and fruit formed 3.9%, 46.3% and 16.5% of the diet consumed respectively. Agricultural crops like Cucurbita maxima (Pumpkin), Psidium guajava(Guava) and Solanum melongena (Brinjal) were eaten extensively.
It has been observed that Hystrix indica is the serious pest of agricultural crops of the area. Long term studies are proposed for better understanding of food habit of this important pest of crops, forestry and rangeland.
Key words: Hystrix indica, fecal pellets, cropland, Sindh.
The Indian crested porcupine, Hystrix indica is an old world Porcupine species and is a rodent pest of economic importance in agriculture and forestry system in Pakistan (Khan et al., 2000). Besides it is also a generalist forager that exploits a wide variety of cultivated and wild plants and consumes above ground as well as sub-surface plant tissues (Gutterman, 1982). The crops of economic importance such as maize, groundnut and potato are heavily attacked by porcupine in field areas of the Punjab and Balochistan provinces. Ahmed et al. (2003) recorded upto 30% damage to neem plantation in rangeland of lower Sindh. Similar damage was observed to Saffron (Crocus sativa) plantation at Mastung, Balochistan. Khan and Mian (2008) reported 30-70% damage to Gladiolus and Dutch Irish plantation in a floriculture farm, Islamabad. In spite of its status as a serious agriculture and forestry pest, no study of its food and feeding habit in cropland in Sindh has been conducted.
Here in, we report data of six month study of porcupine diet based on fecal pellet analysis in farm land of Malir, Karachi.
Materials and methods The study area, the Haji Adam Jokhio farm, is located in the district Malir, Karachi (24o,45 N, 67o,09E) opposite to the coastline of Arabian sea and 10 km off National Highway. The land soil consists of loamy clay and somewhat sandy soil irrigated by tube well. Basically, it is an arid area comprised of six kilometer in radius, surrounded by hills and covered with sparse vegetation. Being located...