Abstract:
An analysis was made of the diet of 144 lesser bandicoots rats, Bandicota bengalensis, trapped in wheat, rice and adjacent fodder crops in central Punjab. The diet of bandicoot rats in wheat field showed increasing utilization of wheat plants and grains as the crop approached maturity. Herbs, grasses and tubers formed decreasing proportions of the diet as wheat utilization increased. Rats trapped in and around rice fields were not feeding on rice in August but ate mainly grass seeds and sorghum. In October as rice harvest neared, they ate mainly rice grains (75%) and stems (12%). The rest were seeds of Echinochloa crus-galli and Setaria pumila, common weeds found in that area.
Page(s):
119-121
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Pakistan Journal of Zoology, Volume: 24, Issue: 1, Year: 1992