Détermination Du Régime Alimentaire Du Dromadaire Et De Son Comportement Dans Son Milieu Naturel

Résumé: Dromedary is recognized as the only breeding species capable of valuing the meager plant resources of the Saharan rangelands. The study has been conducted in the regions of Ouargla and Ghardaïa. Our research work aims to determine diet and feeding behavior of dromedary in its natural environment. To do this, we have carried out spatiotemporal regular follow-ups on its behavior in different Saharan rangelands, during the period between; October 2016 to august 2018. The diet was estimated on the basis of the bite-size method. The obtained results showed that, from a viewpoint floristic richness, the total number hardly exceeds 34 species, belonging to 19 families, including 8 ephemeral species and 26 perennial species. Dromedary grazed 82% of the species present on the rangelands (28 out of 34 species), making its diet diversified. However, the diet is affected by seasonal variation. Distance travelled ranging from 2 to 6.7 km/h, the daily amount grazed varies from 1.7 to 14.85 kg of DM/d. The daily quantity of species is affected by the seasonal variation (P= 0.010). Paradoxically, the periods of the day do not have a significant effect (P= 0.674). Concerning species selection, there is a highly significant relationship between species abundance and their selectivity (P= 0.001) where the most abundant, are generally the most grazed. For interspecies preference, the season (P= 0.010) and physiological status of the species (P= 0.00) have also an influence on species selection. Although the dromedary is confronted to spatio-temporal variations of vegetation cover which negatively affects the quantitative and qualitative aspect of the rations, it is able, due to its feeding behavior and its selective ability, to satisfy itself

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