Data from: Metabarcoding analysis provides insight into the link between prey and plant intake in a large alpine cat carnivore, the snow leopard

Species of the family Felidae (a group represented by cats) are thought to
be obligate carnivores, specialized for hunting and consuming other
animals. However, the detection of plants in the feces of felids raises
questions about the role of plants in their diet. This is particularly
true for the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), a big cat native to central
and South Asia's high mountains. Our study aimed to
comprehensively identify the prey and plants consumed by snow leopards as
well as six other sympatric mammals. We applied DNA metabarcoding methods
on 126 fecal samples collected from the Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve in
Kyrgyzstan. We found that among the three most common plant
families in snow leopard feces, Tamaricaceae (genus Myricaraia) was
consumed often by snow leopards. The genus Myricaria frequently appeared
in samples lacking any animal prey DNA, indicating that snow leopards
might have consumed this plant especially when their digestive tracts were
empty. We also observed a significant difference in plant composition
between male and female snow leopards, and potentially between sampling
seasons. We provide a comprehensive overview of the prey and
plants detected in the feces of snow leopards and sympatric mammals. We
believe our findings will help in formulating hypotheses and guiding
future research to understand the adaptive significance of plant-eating
behavior in felids and animal-plant relationships in the ecosystem.