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It is essential to assess the feeding strategies of threatened species during resource-scarce seasons to understand their dietary niche breadth and inform appropriate habitat management measures. In this study, we examined the diet composition of four-horned antelope (FHA) Tetracerus and quadricornis, one of the least studied ungulate species, in Banke National Park, Nepal. A total of 53 fresh pellet groups were collected between December 2015 and January 2016 and analyzed using micro-histological fecal analysis technique. First, we prepared 133 micro-histological photographs of different parts of 64 reference plant species. Then we compared 1,590 fragments of 53 fecal samples with photographs of reference plants to assess the percentage of occurrence of different plant species in FHA diet. A total of 30 plant species belonging to 18 different families were identified in fecal samples. Chi-square goodness of fit tests showed that FHA appeared not to feed all plant uniformly. Out of 1,520 identified fragments in fecal samples, 1,300 were browse species and 220 were grass species. Browse represented 85.5% of the identified plant fragments, suggesting that FHA might be adopting a browser strategy at least during winter when grasses are low in abundance and their nutritive quality is poor. Tree species had the highest contribution in the diet (46.55%) followed by shrubs (24.52%). The family Gramineae was consumed in the highest proportion (27.68%) followed by Euphorbiaceae (11.95%). Overall, our results suggest that FHA has the feeding plasticity to adapt to resource fluctuation. Based on the findings of this study, we recommend that dicot plant species—particularly fruit trees and shrubs, which are the major source of nutrients for FHA during resource-lean, dry season—be conserved and natural regeneration of these taxa be promoted.

Five different species of Eimeria viz. E. acervulina , E. maxima, E. necatrix, E. tenella and E. brunetti were identified. The highest percentage (50%) was found with mixed infection. Specieswise infection with E. tenella was recorded in the present study. Monthwise highest prevalence rate (50%) was observed in March and the lowest (10%) in the months of April and September. Seasonwise prevalence showed the highest prevalence rate (33%) in the summer and spring, and the least (14%) in the autumn. The agewise prevalence was the highest (48%) in the 31-45 days age group and the least (6%) in 0-15 days age group of layers. The coccidiosis was found highly prevalence in mud/mud+brick type floor than in concrete type floor farms. Key words: Coccidiosis; Eimeria; infection; layers; percentage; summer; spring Journal of Natural History Museum Vol. 23, 2008 Page 45-50

A regional survey was conducted in Nepal for antibody to Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in domestic animals. Sera from pigs, and limited numbers of ducks and horses were collected from 16 districts in 2002-2003 and subjected to three serological tests. Of 270 porcine sera tested by C-ELISA, 55% were found positive for the presence of antibodies against Japanese encephalitis virus. Additional testing for IgM antibody to JEV revealed less than 2% of C-ELISA positive sera had evidence of recent JEV infection. Plaque reduction neutralisation tests (PRNT) using JEV, Murray Valley encephalitis (MVEV) and Kunjin (KUNV) viruses implicated JEV as the flavivirus associated with the observed antibody response in most sero-positive pigs. However, eight porcine sera with predominant neutralising antibody for KUNV (an Australasian subtype of West Nile Virus) provided evidence for the circulation of West Nile virus in Nepal.

Two new tetranortriterpenoids, azadirachtin H {3} and azadirachtin I {4} have been isolated from neem kernels. Their structures were determined by spectral analyses and comparison to known compounds