Assessing nutritional status of Chital (Erxleben, 1777) (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Cervidae) through bone marrow condition of predated individuals in Kanha Tiger Reserve, India

Monitoring the body condition of ungulates is an important aspect of understanding their ecology as it provides information about habitat conditions, seasonality of nutritional stress, disease susceptibility, and prey selection by predators. Bone marrow condition at death provides a reliable indicator of body condition, as marrow fat is among the last energy reserves to be metabolized. Since big bones are often left intact by predators, the marrow condition of the femur is a standard measure. We examined 52 Chital carcasses from predated events to assess bone marrow condition in Kanha Tiger Reserve and found profound seasonality with monsoon having the poorest bone marrow condition while there were no differences between the body condition of predated male and female Chital.