Regional variation in the diet of martial eagles in the Cape Province, South AfricaThe Indian Grey Mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi) in the Circeo National Park: a case of incidental introduction

Hares (Cape hare Lepus capensis, scrub hare Lepus saxatilis) were the dominant prey taxon (50% of total), followed by striped polecat Ictonyx striatus, small-spotted genet Genetta genetta, ground squirrel Xerus inauris and mongooses (yellow mongoose Cynictis penicillata, small grey mongoose Galerella purverulenta). Juvenile domestic small-stock comprise 5%, some of this being carrion. Polemaetus bellicosus tend to select prey in the 1-5 kg mass range, and are opportunistic predators which take a wide spectrum of prey but which also exploit local abundances. Along an environmental gradient from the Nama-Karoo (arid) to grassland (moist), the proportion of prey formed by hares decreased from 63% to 13%, and that of birds increased from 7% to 32%. -P.J.JarvisNo abstract