Food preferences of oribi Ourebia ourebi in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park

Abstract

During a two-year study on the ecology of oribi Ourebia ourebi (Zimmermann, 1783) in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, plant species fed on by oribi were noted. The oribi fed on a total of 22 plant species. Feeding preference categories were assigned according to the degree of use of different plant species, based on direct observation and on a preference rating. The oribi in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park showed a seasonal variation in feeding preferences, utilising several species of forbs primarily during the summer and a marked dif-ference between per cent frequency utilisation of plant species and actual preference rating according to availability of species and for certain plant parts, e.g. for Sporobolus centrifugus.