Differential provisioning roles, prey size, and prey abundance shape the dynamic feeding behavior of gray wolves.

ABSTRACT: The demands of raising dependent young can influence the feeding behaviors of social carnivores, especially for individuals that are primarily responsible for provisioning young. We investigated how the feeding and provisioning behavior of a social carnivore, gray wolves (Canis lupus), are connected and shaped by extrinsic and intrinsic factors, and whether and how these patterns changed throughout the pup-rearing season (April-August). We found breeding wolves had shorter handling times of prey, lower probability of returning to kills, and greater probability of returning to homesites after kills compared to subordinate individuals. However, the feeding and provisioning behaviors of breeding individuals changed considerably over the pup-rearing season. Wolves had longer handling times and

SUBMITTER: Gable TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10576808 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature