Winter feeding ecology of male and female European wildcats Felis silvestris in Slovakia

The study deals with the food spectrum of the European wildcat. It is based on the analysis of the stomach contents of 38 individuals, collected in NE Slovakia during the winters of 1959-1970. Morphometric analysis of wildcat skins revealed that males were significantly larger than females. We hypothesised, that due to their different body sizes, there should be some differences in food niche between the two sexes. Rodents, particularly Microtus arvalis and Clethrionomys glareolus, were the dominant component of the diet, which is consistent with other European studies. There were no significant differences in diet composition between sexes. Similarly, we observed no season-dependent differences, that would point to seasonal shifts in foraging strategy. Thus, our results do not confirm the hypothesis of sexually segregated food niches in the European wildcat.