Data from: Adaptability of large carnivores to changing anthropogenic food sources: diet change of spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) during Christian fasting period in northern Ethiopia

Many large carnivores readily use anthropogenic food sources, which often leads to conflict. Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) around the regional capital Mekelle, northern Ethiopia, feed on waste and to a lesser degree on livestock, but not on natural prey. We investigated the impact on their diet of the 55 day fasting period prescribed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, during which the vast majority of people do not consume animal products. We collected spotted hyena scats before, during and after the fasting period and compared hairs from scat with hairs from a reference collection. We found a significant difference in species composition; donkey and cattle occurrence increased significantly during fasting compared to the non-fasting diet dominated by scavenged remains of goat and sheep. We infer that spotted hyenas opportunistically change their diet from scavenging on waste before and after fasting to predation on larger livestock species that are kept outside at night during fasting. Our findings confirm that spotted hyena are highly adaptable and opportunistic predators.许多大型食肉动物会主动利用人为活动产生的食物资源，这往往会引发人兽冲突。埃塞俄比亚北部区域首府默克莱（Mekelle）周边的斑鬣狗（Crocuta crocuta）以废弃物为主要食物来源，次要取食家畜，但不会捕食天然猎物。我们针对埃塞俄比亚正教会（Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church）规定的55天斋戒期对斑鬣狗食谱的影响展开了调查——该斋戒期内绝大多数民众均不食用动物源食品。我们在斋戒期前后及斋戒期间收集了斑鬣狗的粪样，并将粪样中的毛发与参考毛发样本库的样本进行了比对。研究结果显示，斑鬣狗的食物物种组成存在显著差异：与非斋戒期以捡拾山羊和绵羊的腐尸残骸为主要食物的食谱相比，斋戒期内驴和牛的取食占比显著上升。我们据此推断，斑鬣狗会采取机会主义取食策略：在斋戒期前后以捡拾废弃物为食，而在斋戒期间则转而捕食夜间被置于户外的大型家畜。本研究结果证实，斑鬣狗是适应性极强且极具机会主义特性的捕食者。