Diet composition of wolves Canis lupus in east-central Finland

In east-central Finland, wolf Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 seats were collected from January to November 1997. The summer (May-September) and winter (October-April) diet were determined from 370 seats using four seat-analysis methods: frequency of occurrence, measured dry weight, relative volume and the linear regression model of Weaver (1993). An overall agreement of diet assessment was found between the methods. Moose Alces alces was far the most important prey species in both seasons, accounting for 88% (summer) and 96% (winter) of consumed mammal biomass. Other food types were: hare, beaver, badger, dog, pig, cattle, birds, small rodents, berries, insects, and fishes. The presence of domestic pig and cattle remains implied scavenging behaviour by the wolves. The inclusion of dogs leads to conflict between man and wolves. From 260 seats the summer diet of two wolf packs and the winter diet of one of the packs were determined. No notable seasonal difference in diet was found. An inter-pack difference in summer diet was found, resulting from a relatively lower exploitation of moose (69% versus 93% of consumed mammal biomass) and a corresponding wider use of secondary food types, especially hare, by one of the packs.