Which Animal Is The Main Predator Of The Rock Dassie?
The main predator of rock dassies Procavia capensis is dependent on the location. In some places, the dassie is mainly preyed on by a variety of small mammals but in other parts, the most voracious predator is the black eagle. Because the black eagle prefer to nest and roost on high rocky escarpments, they find they often have a ready supply of food in the shape of rock dassies. In fact, the proximity of adjoining black eagle nest sites is a good measure of its food supply and often therefore the rock dassie population. Often, nest sites are at least 9 km apart, but in places where there is abundant food and large rock dassie numbers the distance can be much less and as little as 4 km apart. Black eagles often hunt in pairs and catch, in favourable locations, upwards of 100 rock dassies per year. This number can be as high as 159 annually in the Great Karoo National Park, for example, but there have been recorded instances of black eagle pairs taking as many as 300 dassies per year.
