The diet of the Iberian Wolf (Canis lupus signatus Cabrera, 1907) was studied in five ecologically different areas that together cover the whole range of distribution of the species in Spain. The study material included 251 stomach contents and some dropping samples collected between 1970 and 1985. Results are given in terms of frequency and percentage of biomass for each food item.Estimation of the biomass consumed was based on the weight of the fresh remains found in the stomachs. This method, in contrast with the conventional procedure of assigning standard weights, enabled quantification of carrion.To determine whether a food remain corresponded to a whole animal or to offal, an index of the nature of food was used. This index indicates the mean portion of food consumed for each item. In each area, the highest index values corresponded to wild or domestic ungulates which constitute the stapple prey of the wolf, or to whole carcasses obtained from industrial farms, whereas low index values corresponded to animal remains obtained in dumps.By weighing the index of the nature of food with the biomass percentage of each food item in the diet, an index of food availability was estimated. The values obtained for each area concurred with their respective abundance of resources.Likewise, an analysis was made on the mean gut weight in each area and related to differences in the amount of food consumed by wolves. Results concurred with the availability values of the food, but not with the degree of population expansion, which seems to be more dependent on the pressure of human control efforts.There are important differences in the wolf's diet from one area to another, but the dependence on domestic and/or wild ungulates is common to all areas studied. In area I (West Galicia), the diet is centered on the prey groups most often associated with human activities, wild prey being almost absent from the diet. In this area the wolf lives upon scraps from industrial poultry and pig farms, and domestic ungulates.In the areas II (Cantabrian Mountains) and IV (Demanda Mountains), the diet is more diversified, ranging from an almost exclusive dependence on wild ungulates with domestic ungulates as a complementary prey, to the opposite situation. , t. 55, n° 2, 1991. Brought to you by | University of Arizona Authenticated Download Date | 6/10/15 1:47 AM 240 MAMMALIA The area III (Douro Meseta) is a particular environment in that the lagomorphs were added to the conventional prey groups, according to season, sometimes becoming as important as these. MammaliaIn area V, wolves in Extremadura prey on both wild and domestic ungulates, while in Sierra Morena they prey almost exclusively on big game.The diet of young wolves was studied separately and compared with that of older individuals. In both groups, domestic ungulates had similar importance, but young wolves consumed more chickens, arthropods and fruit, while adults consumed more wild ungulates. Resume. -L'alimentation du loup iberique (Canis lupus signatus Miller, 1907) a et...

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.

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Sanitary and environmental regulations may have indirect effects on the wildlife and ecosystem services beyond their regulatory scope. To illustrate such effects, this paper examines how EU sanitary measures, in conjunction with additional regulations and socio-economic changes, have caused wolf diet to shift in Galicia, northwestern Spain. Prior to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis in Europe in 2000, livestock carcasses used to be left on the field and were eaten by scavengers and carnivores. As a result of the BSE crisis, sanitary regulations regarding the disposal of livestock carcasses were introduced. These regulations affected the populations of avian scavengers. We hypothesize that wolf ecology has also been affected by the aforementioned regulations. We analysed wolf diet for the period 2003-2006 and compared the results with those of a previously published study (1974-1978). We found a shift in wolf feeding habits following the implementation of these EU regulations. A decrease in carrion consumption was registered, and wolves increased their feeding on the rising population of wild ungulates, especially on roe deer, and on wild pony. Future regulations should assess their potential indirect effects in the early stages of drafting to allow for the design of proper mitigation measures.

Radiotelemetry is an important tool for wildlife management and research, but in some cases attachment of neck collars can be problematic. An alternative in large mammals is to attach transmitters to the ear, though little is published about ear-tag radiotransmitter integrity (i.e., how long a transmitter emits a useful signal) and retention (i.e., how long a transmitter remains attached to an animal). Here we report eartag transmitter integrity and retention from 2 studies monitoring free-ranging calves (Bos taurus) in eastern Arizona, USA, and feral horse (Equus ferus) foals in northwestern Spain. Transmitter integrity and retention was lower for transmitters attached to foals then calves. The primary cause for reduced integrity was antennas breaking off, whereas the primary retention problem involved transmitters ripping out of the ear. When data were pooled across study sites, mean integrity and retention loss was 111 days and 180 days, respectively. Transmitters attached to the interior of the outer ears had retention rates >2 times higher than transmitters attached to the exterior of the outer ear (88% vs. 43%). We recommend that researchers intending to utilize ear-tag transmitters for studies on large domestic or wild animals attach transmitters to the interior of the outer ear, reinforce transmitter antennas in order to improve integrity, and report integrity and retention rates. ß 2012 The Wildlife Society.