In many regions of the Iberian Peninsula, wild ungulates have disappeared and wolves Canis lupus often depend on garbage dumps and domestic animals. This paper represents an example of wild ungulate preferences of the Iberian wolf Canis lupus signatus in an environment with no human‐wildlife conflicts, because wolves rarely predate on livestock. I studied the patterns of prey selection by the Iberian wolf during May 1998‐October 2002 in northwestern Spain, in an area which supports a diverse community of wild ungulates and in which also domestic ungulates are present. My analysis of 593 wolf scats showed that wild ungulates were consumed preferentially over other prey (i.e. domestic ungulates, carnivores and lagomorphs). Roe deer Capreolus capreolus was the most important prey species followed by red deer Cervus elaphus and wild boar Sus scrofa. Domestic ungulates were poorly represented in the wolf diet. Predation frequencies of domestic and wild ungulates varied seasonally and between years. The consumption of roe deer and wild boar increased during the birthing season, probably because of the higher vulnerability of newly born animals; wolves predate mainly on juvenile roe deer and wild boar.

No abstract

For wolves (Canis lupus) scats play an important function in territorial marking behaviour. Depositing scats at strategic sites such as crossroads and on conspicuous substrates probably increases their effectiveness as visual and olfactory marks. It is therefore likely that scats will be deposited, and will accumulate, at particular crossroads where the probability of being detected by other wolves is greatest. To check this hypothesis, a wolf population in NW Spain was studied for two consecutive years, from May 1998 to March 2000, and the spatial distribution of 311 scats detected along roads (both at and away from crossroads) was analysed. This study was conducted over an area of 12,000 ha in Montes do Invernadeiro Natural Park. The results confirm that wolves preferably deposit their scats at crossroads (60.1%) and on conspicuous substrates (72.1%). Significantly more scats were found at intersections with numerous, easily passable roads connecting distant territories. Thus, wolves preferably deposit their faeces at crossroads with high accessibility and driveability. The larger the surface area of the crossroads, the more scats were found. Crossroads are therefore highly strategic points that facilitate the detection of scats.

Feces deposited by the breeding alpha pair on exposed substrates and/or zones may act as visual and olfactory marks associated with social dominance in wolves. The aim of this study was to determine if there was a correlation between marking behavior, sex hormone levels, and physiological stress in a wild population of Iberian wolves in Northwest Spain. The glucocorticoid and sex hormone levels were measured in feces collected as a function of exposure (conspicuous/inconspicuous), height (above ground level/at ground level), and strategic location in the habitat (at crossroads/off crossroads), as well as the frequency of re-marking. The feces, believed to serve as marking cues, had higher glucocorticoid levels (cortisol) and sex hormones (testosterone, progesterone, and estradiol). The results suggest that in Iberian wolves, the alpha pair is subject to higher social stress than subordinate individuals, and that the reproductive suppression of subordinates is not mediated by chronic glucocorticoid elevation.

No abstract