The Food Habits of the Japanese Hare (Lepus brachyurus) (I)

概要

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Japanese hares (Lepus brachyurus TEMMINCK) were collected from Ehime Prefecture in March, 1979, and their food habits were studied by means of stomach content analysis. The stomach contents were treated with nitric acid for the cleaning of plant fragments. Plant fragments were identified with reference slides under a microscope, and were classified into 18 items. The amount of each item was estimated as the proportion of the item to all the items on the slide. First, the average percentage of each item for all the hares as a group was determined. The amount of Cryptonzeria japonica D. DON was as much as 13.1%, while no fragments of Chanzaecyparis obtusa S. et Z. was found despite the fact that both species are damaged by hares. The difference of the amounts of the two species seems to correspond to the variety in the eating habits of the animal. From the quantitative viewpoint, their main food was many species of Gramineae (47.7%). Second, the amounts taken were reexamined according to categories of sex and pregnancy. The amount of C. japonica showed a notable difference among the categories. Pregnant females ate the plant in a high percentage (20.1%). But non-pregnant females ate less of it than males did (7.7% and 11.8%, respectively). This fact suggests that the difference might be caused by the physiological change that pregnancy induced.
日本森林学会の論文