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Sunde, P.; Kvam, T.
Diet patterns of Eurasian lynx _Lynx lynx_: what causes sexually determined prey size segregation?
1997 Acta Theriologica (42): 189-201
The influence of sex, body weight, physical condition, age and season on diet choice was investigated by hunting reports and intestinal analyses of 441 lynx _Lynx lynx_ (Linnaeus, 1758) from Norway, killed during 1960-1996. Of self-provisioning (>= 1 yr) lynx (n = 280), males preyed proportionately more upon cervids (primarily roe dear _Capreolus capreolus_ and semi-domesticated reindeer _Rangifer tarandus_) compared to small game (mountain hare _Lepus timidus_ and tetraonids) than females did. Only 5.4% of the variation in prey preference towards small game and cervids (p = 0.002) could be explained by sex. In a logistic regression model, no additive effect of weight or any other parameters was found after sex had been included. We did not find sufficient evidence for body weight (sensu stricto) being related to prey choice, but propose that sexually determined prey seggregation in lynx is caused by differeent ranging behaviour resulting in different encounter rates with different kinds of prey.
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