Feeding Ecology of the Endangered Barbary Deer (Mammalia: Cervidae) in the Akfadou Forest Enclosure, North Algeria

The last native population of Barbary deer (Cervus elaphus barbarus) lives across the northern border of Algeria and Tunisia; its small population size and global-change pressures limit conservation options, and basic habitat requirements, including diet, remain poorly known. In the Akfadou Forest enclosure (Algeria), where concerns have been raised about woodland condition and limited perennial seedling recruitment, we assessed dietary preferences using micro-histological analysis of faecal samples collected across four seasons. A wide variety of plants was ingested; grasses dominated overall, particularly Avena sterilis and Carex spp., while evergreen trees and woody shrubs also contributed substantially, including Cytisus triflorus, Hedera helix, and Cistus salvifolius. The balance between grazing and browsing indicates that the Barbary deer is an intermediate feeder. Diet composition varied seasonally, with more forbs in winter, more grasses in spring, and greater consumption of trees and shrubs in summer and autumn. These results provide baseline information to support enclosure management and to guide conservation actions for this threatened endemic subspecies, and they highlight the value of complementary analyses of food availability and nutritional quality.