Abstract:
Ten Cape porcupines were radiotracked for one year in a savanna ecosystem
at Nylsvley Nature Reserve, Transvaal, South Africa. Social organisation was
characterised by family groups comprising a monogamous adult pair and immature
offspring. Pair members usually shared the same burrow and utilised similar
home range areas. Group size is probably determined by the time of offspring
dispersal which is dependent upon population density and resource
dispersion and abundance. Total home ranges (100% locations) of neighbouring
pairs often showed considerable overlap, although areas of intensive use (90%
locations) were largely exclusive and are thought to be defended as
territories. Temporal space use patterns suggest that neighbours rarely
encounter one another, indicating territorial maintenance through scent
marking. Natural foragers had larger home ranges in winter than in summer,
whereas range size of crop foragers was aseasonal, suggesting that range size
in natural environments is determined by seasonal food availability.
