Efficacy of Some Additives for Enhancing Bait Consumption Against Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica Kerr) in Mianwali District, Punjab, Pakistan
Efficacy of Some Additives for Enhancing Bait Consumption Against Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica Kerr) in Mianwali District, Punjab, Pakistan
Mehwish Kanwal1, Muhammad Mushtaq1*, Surrya Khanam2, Irfan Ahmed3, Muhammad Sajid Nadeem1, Amjad Rashid Kayani1 and Tariq Mehmood1
ABSTRACT
The aim of this research study was to evaluate the effect of four different additives on the bait consumption by Indian crested porcupine under the field conditions of district Minawali, Punjab, Pakistan, where groundnut is grown as a major cash crop during the kharif season. Four additives (monosodium glutamate, sugar, milk powder and whole egg) at two different concentrations (2.5 and 5% each) were tested for their relative consumption. Groundnut and maize (1:1 ratio) were used as basic bait; for control group, additives were not included in the basic bait. Each experiment was performed under a single choice test pattern. Whole egg at a concentration of 5%, enhanced the intake of the bait significantly over the basic / plain bait, while a non-significant difference of consumption was recorded in case of 2.5% egg supplemented bait over the control bait. While none of the other additive could enhance the consumption of the bait material at both the concentrations. Milk powder added bait was the less preferred bait combination, followed by sugar and monosodium glutamate added baits. Results of the present study suggested that groundnut–maize (1:1 ratio) supplemented with 5% egg components (albumen and yolk) was the most preferred bait combination; and it is suggested that this combination may be further tested with different rodenticides (acute and anticoagulants) for controlling Indian crested porcupine populations in agro-forestry ecosystems.
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