Habitat use and home range of Palawan leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis heaneyi Grove 1997) in Aborlan, Palawan, Philippines
2015
Fernandez, D.A.P.
The spatial ecology of leopard cats was studied using live-trapping, radio-telemetry and small mammal trapping from May 2013 to July 2014 in Aborlan, Palawan, Philippines. One adult female and three adult male leopard cats were captured. Radio-collars were attached to one adult male and one adult female individual then released in their respective capture sites. Radio-telemetry was conducted for a total of 64 days. Non-volant small mammals were captured and released using box traps to determine prey species availability. Results showed that the habitat types utilized by the two leopard cats were forest (71.09%), mixed brushlands (25.78%), coconut plantations (2.60%), and built-up areas (0.52%). The mean 95% minimum convex polygon (MCP) home range of the male (6.2917 km 2) was larger than that of the female (3.9236 km 2). An increase in mean home range size from dry season (3.5658 km 2) to wet season (4.0611 km 2) for both sexes combined could be related to a decrease in small mammal abundance during wet season. Five small mammal species captured in the area included Rattus exulans, Rattus tanezumi, Sandasciurus steerii, Maxomys panglima and Tupaia palawanensis. When prey availability decreases, leopard cats may be driven to occupy larger ranges in search of food.
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