| Summary: | Between the 19th and 20th centuries the wolf (Canis lupus) has suffered a dramatic decline that brought the specie close to extinction in many parts of Europe. Since the '70s of the 20th century, factors such as legal protection, improved habitats quality and mountains depopulation allowed the recovery of this predator. The wolf recovery in areas from which was previously eradicated, was occasionally present, or was absent for several decades has been followed by an intensification of the conflict with human activities, especially with animal husbandry. Many farmers were unprepared to deal with this new situation having abandoned over the years the use of protective measures such as fences, guardian dogs and the practice of follow and protect the flock. This project was carried out in a highly anthropic area of the municipalities of Crespina-Lorenzana and Casciana Terme-Lari, where the presence of a stable and reproductive wolf pack composed by both Italian wolf and hybrids was recently documented by Coppola et al. (2022). Long-term information on this pack was collected by using noninvasive monitoring techniques. Furthermore, the diet of both adult and wolf pups of this pack was investigated for the first time to collect preliminary data on wolf pups diet composition and assess if adults operate a selective provision of food resources to developing pups. Results obtained showed that prey category in wolf pups diet did not differ from those of adults but significant differences were recorded in their occurrence in pups diet compared to adults ones. Despite being in a place affected by livestock farming, wild ungulates were found to be the main prey category in pups diet as for adults. The coypus, an alien animal present in the countryside and defined as pest, was found both in the feces of adults and pups. However, a selective provision of medium-size mammals and birds prey categories for pups by adults occurred. In order to study the food habits of more packs living in an anthropized areas rich in human ...
|
|---|