Table 2.2.1 List of Acacia species and their browsing livestock and wild herbivores (Lawrie. 1954, Dougall et al., 1964; Sahni, 1968, Palmers and Pitman, 1972; Le Houérou, 1983a, Le Houérou, and Corra, 1983; Toutain, 1983; Ibrahim, 1986; Maydell, 1986; Riley and Brokensha, 1988; Skirman et al., 1988; Dicko and Sikena, 1992; Fagg, 1991; Peters et al., 1992; Gutterman, Hines and Eckman, 1993)
Species |
Herbivore and parts eaten |
AFRICA |
|
A. abyssinica |
foliage and pod eaten by camels and sheep in Ethiopia |
A. amythethophylla |
young shoots palatable and readily browsed by livestock |
A. asak |
foliage and pods eaten by cattle, sheep and camels in Ethiopia |
A. ataxacantha |
palatable but not browsed much by livestock |
A. brevispica |
browsed by goats but seldom by cattle because of the thorny branches; also
browsed by giraffe, impala and other ruminants. Green pods eaten by livestock and wildlife |
A. burkei |
foliage and pods eaten by giraffe, gum by monkeys |
A. bussei |
browsed by cattle, sheep and goats in Ethiopia and Somalia |
A. caffra |
the earlies Acacia species in southern Africa to sprout at the start of
the rainy season, browsed by black rhino, antelope; rhino eat stem and bark; baboons eat
flowers and seed |
A. davyi |
foliage and bark eaten by black rhino |
A drepanolobium |
browsed by giraffe |
A. dudgeoni |
palatable, young pods and leaves eaten by small ruminants, especially goats |
A. edgeworthii |
browsed by goats in Ethiopia |
A. ehrenbergiana |
pollarded during the dry season and browsed by camels, sheep and goats |
A. elatior |
browse and bark eaten by elephant |
A. erioloba |
browsed by giraffe; pods eagerly eaten by livestock (nutritional value equivalent
to legume hay), also by elephant, giraffe, rhino, gemsbok and eland, while baboons eat the
young pods; giant bustard eats the gum; the tree rat in the Kalahari feeds almost
exclusively on the foliage, seeds and gum. Presence of HCN but livestock safe provided
they do not eat large quantities too quickly |
A. erubescens |
browsed by cattle and wild animals |
A. erythrocalyx |
browsed by cattle and goats |
A. etbaica |
foliage and pods eaten by cattle, sheep and camels in Ethiopia and Somalia;
immature pods eaten by baboons in Somalia |
A. gerrardii |
lopped branches fed to cattle and goats when other feed not available; browsed by
giraffe, duiker and steenbok; foliage and bark eaten by elephant and black rhino; young
shoots and pods eaten by baboons |
A. gourmaensis |
young shoots, foliage and pods eaten by camels, sheep and goats |
A. gummifera |
Moroccan endemic, browsed by camels, sheep and goats and horses |
A. hebeclada |
foliage and pods eaten by livestock; leaves sometimes toxic |
A. hockii |
foliage and pods eaten by goats; shoots, flower buds and flowers eaten by
baboons, seed eaten by chimpanzees |
A. horrida |
browsed although sometimes refused due to its unpleasant odour |
A. iraqensis |
pods eaten by goats and gazelle in the Negev and Sinai Deserts |
A. karroo |
foliage, flowers and pods eaten by livestock and antelope; gum and seed eaten by
chimpanzees, shoots, flower buds and flowers eaten by baboons, seed eaten by birds |
A. laeta |
foliage and pods browsed by livestock |
A. macrostachya |
shoots and foliage considered a poor fodder |
A. mellifera |
|
subsp. detiens |
young shoots, foliage, pods eaten by livestock, especially sheep and goats, also
kudu. Small branches ground in hammer mill and mixed with mollasses for stock feed in
times of drought |
subsp. mellifera |
browsed by goats and camels, the former also thrive on the fallen leaves.
Considered too spiny for cattle; the clay soils in which it often grows are also a
deterrent during the rainy season. Browsed by gerenuk and other ruminants. A preferred
fodder species in Tanzania |
A. moggii |
gum exudate eaten by animals in Somalia |
A. negrii |
browsed by goats and camels in Ethiopia |
A. nigrescens |
readily browsed by goats; flower buds, flowers and seed eaten by baboons |
A. nilotica sensu lato |
shoots, foliage and pods eaten by wildlife and livestock, especially camels,
sheep and goats. A preferred fodder species in Tanzania |
subsp. adstringens |
foliage and pods eaten by goats. |
subsp. indica |
foliage lopped and fed to livestock; pods best fed dry, also used to supplement
poultry rations |
subsp. kraussiana |
browsed by cattle, sheep and goats in Ethiopia, |
subsp. subulata |
foliage eaten by cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminants; pods eaten by
livestock, rhino, baboons, antelope, especially nyala |
A. oerfota |
foliage and pods an important browse for ruminants in northern enya and eagerly
sought after by camels and goats in Ethiopia; he obnoxious odour of the crushed leaves
deters browsing in ordofan Province, Sudan; flowers and pods eaten by baboons |
A. oliveri |
browsed by cattle, sheep, goats and camels |
A. polyacantha |
|
subsp. campylacantha |
browsed by livestock. A preferred fodder species in Tanzania |
A. reficiens |
|
subsp. misera |
browsed by camels and goats in Somalia |
A. robusta |
foliage and pods sometimes eaten by livestock; young shoots, flowers and gum
eatenby baboons; roots, leaves and gum eaten by monkeys; bark eaten by rhino |
A. senegal |
foliage, pods and gum exudate eaten by camels and goats (livestock excluded from
gum gardens in the Sudan as browsing reduces yield of gum), also browsed by giraffe and
impala; young foliage, flower buds and flowers eaten by baboons |
A. seyal |
|
var. fistula |
leaves and flowers browsed by livestock |
var. seyal |
in dry season more or less leafless branches lopped and fed to livestock, who
also eat the bark; bark also eaten by elephant and other ruminants. Shoots browsed by
goats, elephant, giraffe and other ruminants. The clay soils on which it often ocurs may
deter browsing by domestic livestock during the rainy season. In N. Africa browsed by
camels and goats and occasionally by sheep and cattle |
A. sieberiana |
browsing limited due to the long thorns; fallen pods eaten by livestock
(especially sheep), elephant, rhinosorus and other ruminants; believed to taint milk.
Foliage contains HCN, especially when wilted. A preferred fodder species in Tanzania; gum,
flowers and seed eaten by baboons |
A. stuhlmannii |
browsed by giraffe |
A. tortilis sensu lato |
young trees browsed by sheep and goats; pods eagerly eaten by all livestock and
game. A preferred fodder species in Tanzania |
subsp. heteracantha |
browsed by cattle, antelope, giraffe; pods eagerly eaten by cattle, antelope,
giraffe, monkeys and baboons in S. Africa. |
Subsp. raddiana |
browsed by camels, sheep and goats and occasionally by cattle in N. Africa; pods
eaten by goats and gazelle in the Negev and Siani Deserts |
subsp. spirocarpa |
foliage and pods eaten by cattle, sheep and goats; browsed by giraffe and
baboons; pods eaten by ruminants and baboons; bark by elephants. |
Subsp. tortilis |
foliage and pods eaten by cattle, sheep and goats; pods eaten by gazelle in the
Negev and Siani Deserts |
A. xanthophloea |
young branches, young leaves and roots eaten by elephant, who also eat the bark;
foliage and pods eaten by giraffe; young leaves, flowers and young pods eaten by velvet
monkey; gum, bark and pods eaten by baboons. A preferred fodder species in Tanzania |
F. albida |
lopped branches browsed by domestic livestock; pods relished by camels, cattle,
game and baboons. A preferred fodder species in Tanzania |
INDIA |
|
A. jaquemontii |
browsed by livestock |
A. nilotica |
|
subsp. indica |
browsed by goats and camels |