Population characteristics of Suncus murinus in rural commensal habitats of Pothwar, Pakistan

Abstract

The present study was aimed to determine the population characteristics of the House shrew, Suncus murinus, in rural commensal habitats of Pothwar, Pakistan. The trapping campaign was conducted in four village sites of Pothwar on a seasonal basis from March 2012 through February 2014. In each village, snap traps were set in three types of structures (including, village households, shops and farm houses). The results showed that the shrew population in the rural human habitations had an unbiased sex ratio. Reproductively active individuals were present throughout the year. Reproductively active females outnumbered the inactive individuals. The species was predominantly eating animal food (mainly insects) in its diet along with the sufficient amount of plant matter. Overall, these results indicated that in commensal conditions shrew populations had diversity in their diet with the relatively continuous reproductive activity.