Herpetology Notes, volume 12: 1181-1183 (2019) (published online on 27 November 2019)

Predation on the Kob (Kobus kob) by the African rock python (Python sebae) at Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Ghana

Raymond A. Antwi1, Benjamin Y. Ofori1,*, Daniel K. Attuquayefio1, and Erasmus H. Owusu1,2

The African rock python, Python sebae (Gmelin, The Shai Hills Resource reserve (SHRR) covers an 1789), is Africa’s largest snake species and one of the six area of about 49 km2 and is one of the smallest and largest snakes in the world (Branch and Hacke, 1980). the only fenced reserve in Ghana (Dowsett-Lemaire This non-venomous snake, which is widely distributed and Dowsett, 2005). The reserve is situated in the Shai in sub-Saharan Africa, can reach about 7.5 m in length Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region. The in its natural habitat (Starin and Burghardt, 1992). Its area receives mean annual temperature between 25 range extends from Senegal to Ethiopia and Somalia, and 28 °C and mean annual rainfall of 900 mm (SHRR then southwards into northern Angola (Murphy and Management Plan 2006). The vegetation of SHRR, Henderson, 1997). It is adapted to forests, grasslands typical of the Accra Plain, is predominantly short- and human-modified landscapes, but usually occurs near grass savannah interspersed with trees and shrubs on water bodies (Branch and Hacke, 1980; Luiselli et al., the plains, and thickets and dry evergreen forest on the 2001; Murphy and Henderson, 1997). The African rock hilly areas (Schmitt and Adu-Nsiah, 1992). The trees python is threatened by habitat loss and active hunting are mostly deciduous, with the common trees being for meat, leather, pet trade, and traditional purposes Adansonia digitata, Millettia thonningii, Combretum like traditional medicine and fetish items (Luiselli et fragrans, Vitex doniana, Ficus platyphylla. The reserve al., 2001; Luiselli et al., 2012), but very little is known harbours several species of reptiles, including snakes, about its ecology and natural history. monitor lizards and crocodiles, birds, bats, non-volant Food is an essential resource for all animals, and small mammals and large mammals. The large mammals knowledge of the feeding habits of an organism is include olive baboon (Papio anubis), kob (Kobus kob), important for understanding ecological interactions bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), oribi (Ourebia ourebi), at the community level (Brown and Gillooly, 2003; green monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus), and lesser spot- Pianka, 1974; Wissinger, 1992). Python sebae is a top- nosed monkey (Cercopithecus petaurista) (SHRR level predator, but very little is known about its trophic Management Plan, 2006). The African civet (Civettictis patterns in natural and human-modified environments. civetta) is believed to be present in the reserve, but this To our knowledge, only one study has assessed the diet has not been confirmed, making P. sebae the topmost composition of Python sebae in natural and suburban predator and keystone species in the reserve. areas in West Africa (Luiselli et al., 2001). Here, we On 14 October 2015 at 11:42 hours GMT, during present the first documented evidence of predation on fieldwork assessing the distribution of kobs at the kob, Kobus kob (Erxleben, 1777), by Python sebae in a SHRR (Antwi et al., 2018), a rock python was observed natural habitat in the southern savannah zone of Ghana. preying on an adult female kob (Fig. 1). The predation incidence occurred near a dam at the Sayu area of the reserve (5.9332°N, 0.0517°E; Fig. 2). The total length of the python was about 3.5 m and the kob was about 0.8 m shoulder height. At the time of sighting, the snake had tightly coiled around its prey, in the process 1 Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science, of constricting it to death. Upon sighting, the observer University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana. 2 Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies, moved and hid behind a tree about 30 m away and University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana. observed the incident with the aid of binoculars. This * Corresponding Author: [email protected] was done to avoid human interference of the predation 1182 Raymond A. Antwi et al.

A previous study found that P. sebae preys on grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus), giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus) and other rodents, including squirrels (Euxerus erythropus, Heliosciurus sp., Funisciurus sp.), monitor lizard (Varanus niloticus) and fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) in its natural habitat (Luiselli et al., 2001). In suburban areas, however, the species is known to feed on domesticated species such as poultry, goats and dogs (Luiselli et al., 2001). Python sebae has also been reported preying on humans (Branch and Hacke, 1980), suggesting that the species is an opportunistic forager. Goats, dogs and antelopes such as kobs constitute a ‘Type III’ prey item, which require compensation for both high handling cost and increased gape (Cundall Figure 1. Predation on Kob (Kobus kob) by the African rock and Greene, 2000). From fluid preserved specimens at python (Python sebae) at Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Ghana. the Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Photograph by R. A. Antwi. Science (formally Department of Zoology) museum, we estimate the weight of the python and kob to be 15 kg and 20 kg, respectively. The prey/predator mass ratio of ca. 1.33 is considerable and typical for P. sebae. incident. The snake remained in this position for about It is often difficult to observe predation events in 15 minutes from the time of our first observation of the nature, so fortuitous observations of predator-prey incident before it started swallowing the kob from the interactions are important contributions to knowledge rostral region. It took about two hours for the kob to be about the trophic niche of organisms and energy fluxes swallowed completely by the python. The weather was in an ecosystem (Zocche et al., 2018). Our observation clear and sunny on the day of the predation incident as contributes to knowledge on the diet composition of it was the day before and the day after, with the daily the African rock python in a savannah natural habitat, temperatures ranging between 27 and 30 °C. Ghana, West Africa.

Figure 2. Geographic location of the observation site (red dot) in the Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Greater Accra, south-eastern Ghana. Predation on the Kob by the African rock python, Ghana 1183

Acknowledgements. The authors wish to thank Timothy Murphy, J.C., Henderson, R.W. (1997): Tales of giant snakes: a Danah, William Amekor and John Bosu for their assistance with historical natural history of anacondas and pythons. Malabar, fieldwork. USA, Krieger Publishing Company. Pianka, E.R. (1974): Niche overlap and diffuse competition. References Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 71(5): 2141– 2145. Antwi, R.A., Owusu, E.H., Attuquayefio, D.K. (2018): Species Schmitt, K., Adu-Nsiah, M. (1992): The Vegetation of Shai Hills distribution of kobs (Kobus kob) in the Shai Hills Resource National Reserve. Forest Resource Management Project, GWD/ Reserve: an exploratory analysis. Environmental Monitoring IUCN. and Assessment 190(3): 107. Shai Hills Resource Reserve Management Plan (2006): Wildlife Branch, W., Hacke, W. (1980): A fatal attack on a young boy by Division Support Project, Report No. 57. Accra, Ghana, Wildlife an African rock python Python sebae. Journal of Herpetology Division. 14(3): 305–307. Starin, E., Burghardt, G. (1992): African rock pythons (Python Brown, J.H., Gillooly, J.F. (2003): Ecological food webs: high– sebae) in the Gambia: observations on natural history and quality data facilitate theoretical unification. Proceedings of the interactions with primates. Snake 24(1): 50–62. National Academy of Sciences 100(4): 1467–1468. Wissinger, S.A. (1992): Niche overlap and the potential for Cundall, D., Greene, H.W. (2000): Feeding in snakes. In: Feeding: competition and intraguild predation between size-structured Form, Function, and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates, p. 293– populations. Ecology 73(4): 1431–1444. 333. Schwenk, K., Ed., San Diego, USA, Academic Press. Zocche, J.J., Ceron, K., Gonzaga, G.S., Plucenio, G.P., Carvalho, Dowsett-Lemaire, F., Dowsett, R. J. (2005): Ornithological F. (2018): Predation on Chironius bicarinatus (Wied, 1820) surveys in Shai Hills Resource Reserve. Accra, Ghana, Wildlife (Serpentes: Colubridae) by roadside hawk Rupornis magnirostris Division. (Gmelin, 1788) (Aves: Accipitridae). Herpetology Notes 11: Luiselli, L., Angelici, F M., Akani, G.C. (2001): Food habits of 129–131. Python sebae in suburban and natural habitats. African Journal of Ecology 39(1): 116–118. Luiselli, L., Bonnet, X., Rocco, M., Amori, G. (2012): Conservation implications of rapid shifts in the trade of wild African and Asian pythons. Biotropica 44(4): 569–573.

Accepted by Vaclav Gvozdik