Abstract
In Germany, wolves live in a human-dominated landscape. The return of the wolf to Germany more than 20 years ago is a prime example of successful nature conservation; however, it has also led to conflict due to the high degree of landscape fragmentation and the feeding habits of the wolf. Here, the wolf diet composition was studied based on an analysis of 11,225 scats. Wolves in Germany mainly feed on wild ungulates, which comprise more than 94% of their diet. The predominant species are roe deer and wild boar, whereby in most territories roe deer dominate the diet composition. Depending on availability, red deer and fallow deer may also make up a high proportion of the diet. Seasonal and territorial variation in diet composition has been noted even in directly neighboring territories. Wolves preferentially hunt juveniles of the main prey species. With the exception of the mouflon, which has all but disappeared locally, no other ungulate species has vanished from the wolf’s diet. This study provides an overview of the varied diet of wolves in Germany since recolonization more than 20 years ago.
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Data availability
The datasets used in the current study are available from corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We wish thank all those people responsible for monitoring activities, the many students and other volunteers from all over Germany for their field work and participation in the laboratory work. We are grateful to the DBU Natural Heritage and Supreme Hunting Authority of the Federal State of Saxony for supplying the hunting bags. A big thanks also to Catriona Blum-Rérat.
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Material preparation was performed by IR, GK, FB, MK, F-UM, HS, JT, JT, MT and HW. Data collection and analysis was performed by PL. HK, HA and PL were involved in the study conception and design. The first draft of the manuscript was written by PL. All authors commented on earlier versions of the manuscript, and all authors read and approved the final version of this manuscript.
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Lippitsch, P., Kühl, H., Reinhardt, I. et al. Feeding dynamics of the wolf (Canis lupus) in the anthropogenic landscape of Germany: a 20-year survey. Mamm Biol 104, 151–163 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-024-00399-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-024-00399-2