O. Gy. Dely szerk.: Vertebrata Hungarica 20. (Budapest, 1981)
Demeter, A.: Small mammals and the food of owls (Tyto and Bubo) in Northern Nigeria 127-136. o.
VERTEBRATA HUNGARICA TOM. XX. 1981 p. 127-136 Small mammals and the food of owls (Tyto and Bubo) in northern Nigeria By A. DEMETER (Received November 1, 1979) Abstract: 120 specimens representing 13 species of small mammals were collected in Yankari Game Reserve, northern Nigeria and in cultivated land outside the reserve. Of these, Crocidura odorata, C. pasha , Epomophorus gambianus , Tadarida (Mops) condylura and Graphiurus murinus are new records for the reserve. Pellets from Bubo africanus and Tyto alba were examined: shrews and rodents were the most important prey. New records for the reserve as indicated in owl pellets are Taphozous mauritianus , Nycteris major , Crocidura flavescens, C. poensis and Dasymys incomtus. Suncus infinitesimus was found in pellets from Futuk. Yankari Game Reserve was the first to be established in Nigeria and now it covers about 2,240 km 2 in Bauchi State of northern Nigeria. It is managed for tourism and therefore big game and wildlife habitats have received the primary attention of researchers. HAPPOLD (1970) carried out a short survey of small mammals in the dry season of 1969, when he found seven species and recorded the occurrance of three others. In this paper I report on the small mammals (shrews, bats and rodents) collected in the reserve and at a small town, Futuk, 16 km easts of the'reserve boundary during July and August 1978. The small mammal records were supplemented by analysing the contents of pellets of the Barn Owl, Tyto alba (Scopoli) and the Spotted Eagle-Owl, Bubo africanus (Temminck). GEERLING (1978) Indicated the occurrance of Spotted Eagle-Owls in the reserve, but the solitary Barn Owl • that I observed is certainly a new record, and its presence may be related to the increased urbanization of Wikki, the tourist motel and head-quarters of the game preservation authorities. GEERLING (loc. cit.) observed such effects for some other bird species. METHODS Snap-traps baited with finely crushed peanuts ("kuli-kuli") were set in lines of variable lengths at 10 m intervals, except in houses where they were laid in suitable looking places. In addition, children were encouraged to bring any small mammals they caught, a method that had previously been successfully used in Nigeria (HAPPOLD, 1974). Bats were mainly caught with mist nets. Collections were made between 28 June and 18 August 1978, mainly within 5 km radius around Wikki. Smaller, collections were obtained in the northern part of the reserve, along the upper reaches of River Yashi (4-8 July 1978) and in houses and in cultivated fields at Futuk, 16 km east of the reserve (4-7 August 1978). One bat was collected at Dagudi, 5 km west of the reserve. Specimens were weighed, sexed, eviscerated and their reproductive condition noted in the field before preserving them in 70 % alcohol. The prepared study skins are new deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum Budapest.
