The article analyzes 151 food samples of carnivoran mammals of two families. It was found that the diet includes 49 food items in the studied species of the family Canidae and 42 items in species of the family Mustelidae, of both plant and animal origin. It was revealed that plant food is an important component of the diet of predators, since the frequency of registration of these objects is 46.4%. Most often, it is the remains of cereals and plant seeds. Rodents are the main food for both families (19% in Canidae, 21% in Mustelidae). A seasonal change in diet for both families was noted. Members of the family Mustelidae consume plants more often in summer and winter, while in in spring and autumn mammals prevail in their diet when the share of juicy fruits is the lowest. Rodents are consumed throughout the year, but their largest share was noted in spring, when this family is characterized by the greatest variety of food (Shannon's index is 2.0). For members of the family Canidae, the most important component of the diet in winter is dry fruits. The number of rodents in their diet also increases in spring. The summer period is characterized by the consumption of invertebrates and the absence of animal carcasses in the diet. In autumn, the share of juicy fruits increases and during this period the diet of Canidae is the most diverse (1.9). The lowest variety of food in species of the two families was registered in summer. Competition between the studied families may increase in spring when the most important food for the representatives of both Canidae and Mustelidae is rodents. There are some sex-related trophic preferences in both families. In particular, males of the family Mustelidae consume rodents more often (68.7%), while females more often feed on plants (56.1%). As for the family Canidae, the analysis was carried out on the example of the red fox. It was found that females of this species prefer plant foods and there are no ungulates in their diet. Males consume fewer plants (41.4%) and often forage in cattle burial grounds and landfills. Accordingly, the diet of males is more diverse compared to that in females. The Shannon index is 3.3 and 2.5, respectively.

The article analyses feeding specifics depending on the season of five species of predatory mammals belonging to two families: Mustelidae and Canidae. It was established that the largest number of food objects in the red fox’s diet is characteristic for the winter period (44 objects). In winter, this species enriches its diet with invertebrates, fish, domestic mammals, and ungulates in small quantities. The main objects of food during this period are rodents (19%) and birds (16.6%). Rodents are also the basis of the weasel’s winter diet (50%). Both species of marten also consume rodents and birds in the winter, however, the pine marten hunts birds more often (17.4%) compared to rodents (13%), whereas the stone marten rarely hunts birds in the winter and the basis of its diet is made up by rodents (23.1%). The spring period is characterised by a sharp decrease in objects of plant origin in the diet of all carnivorous mammals considered. In spring, the stone marten consumes the largest share of animal feed (80%). The share of animals in the pine marten’s diet also increases, but this species actively hunts invertebrates (37.1%). Birds were not detected in the diet of the pine marten in spring, but they are present in the diet of the weasel in this period (5.9%). Almost half of the summer diet of all species considered consists of plant objects. All predators are characterised by the consumption of a large number of invertebrates during this period, with the lowest share of them in the diet of the stone marten (5.6%), whose main food in the summer is plants (55.6%), rodents (22.2%) and birds (16.7%). In autumn, the share of plant components in the diet of predators is more than 50%, and this period is characterised by having the highest share of juicy fruits in the diet throughout the year, except for the weasel, in the diet of which plants are rarely found during this period (21.4%). The basis of the diet of this species during this period is mammals (64.3%). The share of rodents (15.5%) and birds (8.3%) in the red fox’s diet increases in the autumn period. Inedible objects were recorded in food samples of two species: red fox and pine marten. For the marten, the largest number of these objects was registered in the summer period, and for the fox, non-food objects were absent only in the summer diet.