Table 7.

Habitat and food preference of the main animals species collected according to Nowak [61].

Animal species	Habitat	Food preference
C. gambianus	Forests, and villages	Vegetables, insects, crabs, snails, palm fruits, and palm kernels Regular coprophagy They use their cheek pouches to carry food and store large amounts of food in their shelters
C. hirta	Damp and dry forests, grasslands Cultivated areas Occasionally human settlements and buildings	Invertebrates Bodies of freshly killed animals (including frogs, toads and lizards) Regular coprophagy
M. natalensis	Savannah Cultivated and abandoned fields Buildings and villages	Mainly grass and other seeds, insects when available Everything that people eat when available
R. rattus	Cities, villages Cultivated fields some natural habitats	Variety of plants and animal matter: seeds, grains, nuts, vegetables, fruits Everything that people eat