Summary
Wolf-ungulate interactions were studied in the pristine deciduous and mixed forests of the Bialowieża National Park in 1985–1989. The study period included two severe and two mild winters. The community of ungulates inhabiting Bialowieża National Park consisted of red deer Cervus elaphus, 55% of all ungulates; wild boar Sus scrofa, 42%; and roe deer Capreolus capreolus, moose Alces alces, and European bison Bison bonasus, about 1% each. The average size of red deer groups increased from 2.7 (SD 2.35) in spring and summer to 6.9 (SD 6.84) in autumn and winter. In winter the group size of red deer was positively correlated with the depth of snow cover and negatively correlated with the mean daily temperature. Average group size of wild boar did not change significantly between seasons; it was 6.8 (SD 5.16) in spring and summer and 5.7 (SD 4.67) in autumn and winter. Analysis of 144 wolf scats showed that wolves preyed selectively on red deer. In October–April, Cervidae (mostly red deer) constituted 91% of biomass consumed by wolves, while wild boar made up only 8%. In May–September deer formed 77% of prey biomass, and the share of wild boar increased to 22%. In all seasons of the year wolves selected juveniles from deer and boar populations: 61% of red deer and 94% of wild boar of determined age recovered from wolves' scats were young <1 year old. Analysis of 117 carcasses of ungulates found in Bialowieża National Park showed that predation was the predominant mortality factor for red deer (40 killed, 10 dead from causes other than predation) and roe deer (4 killed, none dead). Wild boar suffered most from severe winter conditions (8 killed, 56 dead). The percentage of ungulates that had died from undernutrition and starvation in the total mortality was proportional to the severity of winter.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ballard WB, Whitman JS, Gardner CL (1987) Ecology of an exploited wolf population in South-Central Alaska. Wildl Monogr 98:1–54
Bibikov DI (ed) (1985) The wolf. History, systematics, morphology, ecology. Izd Nauka, Moskva (in Russian)
Boitani L (1982) Wolf management in intensively used areas of Italy. In: Harrington FH, Paquet PC (eds) Wolves of the World. Perspectives of behavior, ecology, and conservation. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge NJ, pp 158–172
Bunevich AN (1988) Dinamika chislennosti i pitanie volka v Belovezhskoi Pushche [Dynamics of numbers and diet of wolf in Belovezha Primeval Forest] (in Russian). Zapovedniki Belorussii 12: 108–113. Minsk, Uradzhai
Brtek L, Voskar J (1987) Food biology of the wolf in Slovak Carpathians (in Slovakian with English summary). Biologia (Bratislava) 42:985–990
Caboń K (1958) Masowa śmiertelność dzików w Bialowieskim Parku Narodowym w zimie 1956 roku [Mass death of wild boar in Bialowieża National Park in winter 1956] (in Polish). Chrońmy przyr ojcz 14:21–27
Carbyn LN (1987) Gray wolf and red wolf. In: Novak M, Baker GA, Obbard ME, Malloch B (eds) Wild furbearer management and conservation in North America. Ontario Trappers Assoc, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, pp 359–376
Carbyn LN, Trottier T, (1988) Description of wolf attacks on bison calves in Wood Buffalo National Park. Arctic 41:297–302
Clutton-Brock J (1987) A natural history of domesticated mammals. Cambridge University Press and British Museum (Natural History)
Dardaillon M (1988) Wild boar social groupings and their seasonal changes in the Camargue, Southern France. Z Saugetierk 53:22–30
Debrot S (1982) Atlas des poils de Mammiferes d'Europe. Peseux, Suisse
Dzięciolowski R (1969) Ciężar naszych jeleni nizinnych [Weight of our lowland red deer] (in Polish) Łowiec polski 19:4
Dzięciolowski R (1979) Structure and spatial organization of deer populations. Acta Theriol 24:3–21
Dzięciolowski R (1991) Ecological niches of five big ungulates in a forest tract. Folia For Pol 33:56–70
Dziurdzik B (1973) Key to the identification of hairs of mammals from Poland. Acta Zool Cracov 18:73–91
Elgar MA (1989) Predator vigilance and group size in mammals and birds: a critical review of the empirical evidence. Biol Rev 64:13–33
Faliński JB (1986) Vegetation dynamics in temperate lowland primeval forest. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht. Geobotany 8:1–537
Filonov KP (1989) Ungulates and large predators in wildlife reserves (in Russian). Nauka, Moskva
Fritts SH, Mech LD (1981) Population dynamics, movements, and feeding ecology of a newly protected wolf population in Northwestern Minnesota. Wildl Monogr 80:1–79
Gavrin VF, Donaurov SS (1954) Volk v Belovezhskoi Pushche [Wolf in Belovezha Primeval Forest] (in Russian). Zool Zhurn 33:904–924
Godyń Z (1937) Rozmieszczenie niektórych zwierząt łownych w Polsce. 3. Wilk (Canis lupus Linn.) [Occurrence of some game animals in Poland (in Polish). 3. Wolf (Canis lupus Linn.)]. Łowiec 13/14:116–121
Goszczyński J (1974) Studies on the food of foxes. Acta Theriol 19:1–18
Jacobs J (1974) Quantitative measurements of food selection; a modification of the forage ratio and Ivlev's Electivity index. Oecologia 14:413–417
Jarman MR (1972) European deer economies and the advent of the Neolithic. In: Higgs ES (ed) Papers in economic prehistory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 125–149
Jezierski W (1977) Longevity and mortality rate in a population of wild boar. Acta Theriol 22:337–348
Jędrzejewski W, Jędrzejewska B, Szymura A (1989) Food niche overlaps in a winter community of predators in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland. Acta Theriol 34:487–496
Karcev G (1903) Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Ee istoricheskii ocherk, sovremennoe okhotnich'e khozyaistvo i vysochaishe okhoty v Pushche [Belovezha Primeval Forest. Its historical description, contemporary game management and monarchial hunts in the Forest] (in Russian). A Marks, S Petersburg
Krasińska M (1988) Hybrids of European bison and domestic cattle (in Polish with English summary). Ossolineum, Prace Habilitacyjne, Wrocław
Krasiński Z (1967) Free living European bisons. Acta Theriol 12:391–405
Kudaktin AN (1982) Okhotnichi povadki volkov v zapadnem Kavkaze [Hunting habits of wolves in western Caucasus] (in Russian). Byull Mosk Obshch Ispyt Prir (Otd Biol) 87(1):24–30
Kudaktin AN (1986) Vliyanie volka na kopytnykh v Kavkazskom Zapovednike [Innuence of wolf on ungulates in the Caucasus Reserve]. In: Fedosenko AK (ed) Rol' krupnykh khishchnikov v biocenozakh zapovednikov [Role of large predators in the biocenoses of reserves] (in Russian). Sbornik nauchnykh trudov CNIL Glavokhoty RSFSR, Moskva, pp 21–35
Litvinov VP (1981) The wolf (Canis lupus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) in the Kyzyl-Agach State Reservation (in Russian with English summary). Zool Zhurn 60:1588–1591
Lockie JD (1959) The estimation of the food of foxes. J Wildl Manage 23:224–227
Mech LD (1970) The wolf: the ecology and behavior of an endangered species. The Natural History Press, Garden City, New York
Mech LD, McRoberts RE, Peterson RO, Page RE (1987) Relationship of deer and moose populations to previous winters' snow. J Anim Ecol 56:615–627
Messier F, Crete M (1985) Moose-wolf dynamics and the natural regulation of moose populations. Oecologia 65:503–512
Miłkowski L (1970) Łowiectwo w Puszczy Białowieskiej. Przewodnik dla myśliwych [Hunting in Bialowieza Primeval Forest. Guide for hunters] (in Polish). Wyd Woj Ośrodek Informacji Turystycznej, Białystok
Miłkowski L (1986) Wilk i ryś w Puszczy Białowieskiej [Wolf and lynx in Bialowieza Primeval Forest] (in Polish). Łowiec polski 10:18–19
Miłkowski L, Wójcik JM (1984) Structure of wild boar harvest in the Białowieża, Primeval Forest. Acta Theriol 29:337–347
Nelson ME, Mech LD (1981) Deer social organization and wolf predation in Northeastern Minnesota. Wildl Monogr 77:1–53
Okarma H (1991) Marrow fat content, sex and age of red deer killed by wolves in winter in the Carpathian Mountains. Holarctic Ecol 14:169–172
Pavlov MP (1990) Volk [The wolf] (in Russian). VO Agropromizdat, Moskva
Peterson RO (1977) Wolf ecology and prey relationships on Isle Royale. Natl Park Serv Sci Monogr Ser 11:1–210
Pielowski Z (1988) Sarna [Roe deer] (in Polish) 3rd edn. PWRiL, Warszawa
Pucek Z (ed) (1984) Klucz do oznaczania ssaków Polski [Key for identification of Polish mammals] (in Polish). 2nd edn. Polish Scientific Publishers, Warszawa
Salvador A, Abad PL (1987) Food habits of a wolf population (Canis lupus) in Leon Province, Spain. Mammalia 51:45–52
Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1981) Biometry. 2nd edn. WH Freeman and Co. New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jędrzejewski, W., Jędrzejewska, B., Okarma, H. et al. Wolf predation and snow cover as mortality factors in the ungulate community of the Bialowieża National Park, Poland. Oecologia 90, 27–36 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317805
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317805