Diet of wolves <Emphasis Type="Italic">Canis lupus</Emphasis> returning to Hungary |
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Authors: | József Lanszki Márta Márkus Dóra Újváry Ádám Szabó László Szemethy |
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Institution: | 1.Department of Nature Conservation,University of Kaposvár,Kaposvár,Hungary;2.Institute for Wildlife Conservation,Szent István University,G?d?ll?,Hungary;3.Foundation for Large Carnivores in Hungary,Budapest,Hungary |
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Abstract: | At the end of the nineteenth century, the wolf Canis lupus was extinct in Hungary and in recent decades has returned to the northern highland area of the country. The diet of wolves
living in groups in Aggteleki National Park was investigated using scat analysis (n = 81 scats) and prey remains (n = 31 carcasses). Throughout the year wolves (average, minimum two wolves per year) consumed mostly wild-living ungulates
(mean percent of biomass consumed, B% 97.2%; relative frequency of occurrence, %O 74.0%). The wild boar Sus scrofa was the most common prey item found in wolf scat (%B 35.6%) and is also the most commonly occurring ungulate in the study
areas. The second most commonly occurring prey item in wolf scat was red deer Cervus elaphus (B% 32.8%). Conversely, prey remain analyses revealed wild boar as the second most commonly utilised prey species (%O 16.1%)
after red deer (%O 67.7%). The roe deer Capreolus capreolus that occurs at lower population densities was the third most commonly utilised prey species. The importance of low population
density mouflon Ovis aries, livestock and other food types was low. The results are similar to those found in the northern part of the Carpathian Mountains. |
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