Foraging behavior and dietary preference of Wuxue goats on karst shrubby grassland of West Hunan.

The study on the foraging behavior and dietary preference of Wuxue goats on karst shrubby grassland of West Hunan Province showed that the duration of different foraging behaviors was in the order of ingestionwanderingresting and ruminationstandingdrinking.The foraging behaviors except standing were significantly different in their durations before noon,at noon,and after noon,e.g.,ingestion presented a "V" curve,while resting and rumination presented a parabola.The duration of wandering was significantly longer before noon than at noon and after noon,and that of drinking was significantly longer after noon than before noon and at noon.Wuxue goats preferred to ingest Broussonetia kazinoki, Indigfera psendotictria and Lonicera japonica,etc.,and more preference was to wood plants and lianas than to herbs.The majority of the plants that Wuxue goats ingested were the preference species,but the main food of the goats was not always the preferred plants due to the different distribution and availability of the plants.