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类活动衍生的食物来源，这往往会引发人兽冲突。栖息于埃塞俄比亚北部区域首府默克莱周边的斑鬣狗（Crocuta crocuta），以废弃物为主要食物，少量取食家畜，而非天然猎物。本研究探究了埃塞俄比亚正统台瓦西多教会规定的55天斋戒期对其饮食的影响——该斋戒期间绝大多数民众均不食用动物源性食品。我们在斋戒期前后及斋戒期内收集了斑鬣狗的粪样，并将粪样中的毛发与馆藏参考毛发样本进行比对。结果显示，斑鬣狗的饮食物种组成存在显著差异：相较于非斋戒期以捡拾山羊、绵羊残骸为核心的食谱，斋戒期内驴、牛的采食占比显著提升。据此我们推断，斑鬣狗会采取机会主义饮食策略：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留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。