Foods habits of Tupaia glis with remarks on the evaluation of its economic importance

Lim, Boo Liat (1995) Foods habits of Tupaia glis with remarks on the evaluation of its economic importance. [Journal / Magazine]

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Abstract

The study of the natural diet of (Tupaia glis) was based on examining 85 stomach contents of this species collected from the various lowland forests in Selangor from 1966 to 1975. Amongst the 85 stomachs examined, 69.4% had insect fragments in them. Analysis of the insect fragments produced 7 Orders of insects,an Order of Arachnida and 4 other animal types belonging to the Class Crustacea and Mollusca and the Orders of Rodentia and Squamata. Of the 59 positive stomach contents, fragments of Coleoptera comprised 89.9%, Isoptera 50.8%, Lepidoptera 40.7%, Hymenoptera and Orthoptera less than 25% each and Hemiptera 17%. Other than Arthropods, Arachnida was found in 12%, crustacean and molluscan animals were present in 6.8% and 8.5% respectively. Feeding experiments of captive animals with mixed fruits, insects and mollusc revealed the percentages of insect weight volume (crickets, cockroaches, mealworms) averaged higher than mixed fruits, and snails were the least preferred. This further supports the finding that insects comprised the main diet of this animal in nature besides fruits for captive T. glis. Field observations supported by experimental results confirmed that (T.glis) has the habit of stripping barks of young seedlings of rubber and pine plants. This animal was known to visit cocoa and banana plantations where fruits were destroyed. On the other hand, stomach contents also revealed that they preyed on suckling and young rats which are pests of plantations and forests. Such omnivorous habits, based on natural and experimental findings, suggest that (T.glis) in a forest community plays an economic role as both pest and predator as discussed.

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