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| Schmidt, K.; Jedrzejewski, W.; Okarma, H.; Kowalczyk, R. | |
| Spatial interactions between grey wolves and Eurasian lynx in Bialowieza Primeval Forest, Poland | |
| 2009 Ecological Research (24): 207-214 | |
Various species of large predators are reported to influence each other through interference or exploitation competition that may affect demography and survival of the subordinate species. We analyzed spatial relationships between grey wolf (_Canis lupus_) and Eurasian lynx (_Lynx lynx_) in Bialowieza Primeval Forest (BPF, eastern Poland) to determine how they partitioned the space. The wolves (n = 8) and lynx (n = 14) were radio-tracked in 1991-1999. Three wolves and seven lynx were radio-tracked simultaneously in 1994-1996. Territories of wolf packs and home ranges of lynx overlapped considerably (76% of wolf territories and 50% of lynx home ranges, on average). In three cases, their core areas were also overlapping. Wolf-lynx dyads with overlapping home ranges were simultaneously located at distances from 0 to 28 km from each other. We found neither avoidance nor attraction between wolves and lynx occupying the same areas. We concluded that in BPF, the two large predators coexist due to specialization on different preferred prey and heterogeneous habitat. |
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