Food habits and trophic niche overlap of the wolf (Cani lupus L. 1758) and the red fox Vulpes vulpes (L. 1758) in a mediterranean mountain area

In an area of the Abruzzo National Park, Italy, wolf preyed mainly upon wild and domestic ungulates. Occurrence of red deer Cervus elaphus in the diet exceeded that of the roe deer Capreolus capreolus, parallel to the relative local abundance of these species. Although consumption of reintroduced deer species increased during the study period, no corresponding decrease of predation on livestock could be assessed. Diet of the wolf did not show seasonal variations in the study area, whereas that of the fox did. Use of different trophic resources by these two carnivores was likely to generate such a difference, the former taking prey steadily available throughout the year, while the latter makes use of seasonally fluctuating food resources (eg rodents and fruits). The dependence on anthropogenic food resources was noticeable for the wolf, but mainly restricted to domestic ungulates, and was negligible for the fox. Food competition is unlikely in well preserved habitats, where they can fill different trophic niches. -from Authors.