It is obvious, that successful coexistence of large carnivores with human populations is particularly challenging, where the animals have been absent after extirpation for decades, where ecosystems are strongly modified by humans and where the latter have lost adaptions for coexistence.
The return of large carnivores to modern and cultivated landscapes, as you find them particular in Europe, is not only complicated by emotional, political and socioeconomic interests - making the management of large carnivore populations challenging - but also controversial. One of the main disputed topics is the diet of large carnivores.
Dietary studies yield qualitative and quantitative information about the actual prey spectrum and therefore contribute to the substantiation of the discussion and a mitigation of the “human-large carnivore-conflict”. The integration of study results within public information policy is one of the management tools, aiming to dispel widespread misperceptions in regard to feeding habits of large carnivores. As emotional aspects, in the form of retaliation for real and perceived losses of livelihood, are inter alia assumed to be the motivation for intolerant behavior of humans towards predators, dietary studies contribute to the conservation of large carnivores.
In the frame of the study, dietary data of wolves in Lower Saxony was gathered. The study goal was to identify on which prey species wolves in Lower Saxony do prey on. Furthermore, to find out if they prefer certain prey species or species groups, if the analysis reflects the local offer and if there are temporal and / or spatial differences in the prey spectrum. As data base, more than 400 wolf scats were available, collected with human involvement in the framework of the wolf monitoring with witch the Hunting Association of Lower Saxony is assigned. Trained volunteers collected the sample between 2013 and 2017 by chance and according to nationwide standards in different parts of the country.
The sample was prepared and analyzed according to standardized procedures. Scats were examined macro- and microscopical. Species- or group-specific characteristics of the medulla and the cuticula of prey hair were investigated and rated, using reference material and determination keys. Prey items were grouped into categories. The analysis results are going to be quantified as Frequency of Occurence and as Estimated Biomass. Based on this, selectivity and specialization will be examined with Ivlev's Electivity Index and Levins' formula. The calculation will include supply (data from the recording of wild ungulates and annual hunting bags) and demand (biomass ratios in the sample).
Preliminary results show that roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) appears most often in the sample, followed by wild boar (Sus scrofa). Only two domestic species could be identified: One sheep and one cattle of about one month. Parts of a cats’ mandible were found in one case. Whether these belong to the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) or the wild cat (Felis silvestris), can not be predicted.
This interim conclusion coincides with previous studies in Germany and confirms worldwide observations that wolves mainly feed on wild ungulates, if the supply is available.
Topics: Management of Human-Wildlife Conflicts: Large Carnivores in Europe
