A Predator on the Doorstep: Kill Site Selection by a Lone Wolf in a Peri-Urban Park in a Mediterranean Area.

ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to assess which kill site characteristics were selected by a lone wolf living in a protected Mediterranean coastal area near the city of Pisa, Italy, where both wild and domestic ungulates were available as potential prey. Between 2017 and 2019, we monitored the wolf's predatory behaviour through a combination of camera trapping and active search for kill sites and prey carcasses. The main prey found was the fallow deer (n = 82); only two wild boars and no domestic ungulates were found preyed upon. The features and habitat of kill sites were modelled to test for selection by the wolf. The habitat type of kill site was composed of meadows and pastures (89.3%), woods (7.3%), degraded coastal areas (1.9%), roads and rivers (1.1%), and marshes (0.5%). We calculated the

SUBMITTER: Del Frate M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9913258 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature