Diets and Forage Preference of Communally Grazed Range Goats in an Acacia Bush Savanna in Southeast Botswana

The study was aimed at determining the botanical diet composition of goats foraging in Acacia bush savanna rangeland in southeast Botswana. The dominant species in the study area were of the genus Acacia with an understory of mostly perennial grasses. Acacia were the dominant plant species consumed by goats. Certain perennial grasses also featured prominently in their diets, but only during the wet season. Preference ratings for the plants comprising diets of goats were positive for about 80% of the woody plants during the dry season and 50% during the wet season. Less than 30% of the grasses were selected for during the wet season while all were discriminated against in the dry season.