With the reappearance and settlement of the Iberian wolves (Sealed wolf dog) in the Iberian Peninsula conclusions can already be drawn from cWhat is your diet like?specifically at the points where it moves through the mountains of Madrid.
A study carried out between 2017 and 2021 collects the results of collecting feces samples from the Iberian wolf in Madrid, a species that reappeared in this community in 2023, and has been able to conclude that Their diet now is very different than that of a few decades ago..
During the 19th and 20th centuries in the Guadarrama mountain range, the wolf did pose a real threat to livestock, which at that time their diet was based almost exclusively on flocks of sheep, with a notable absence of their favorite wild ungulates. However, this situation has changed, either due to the absence of certain types of livestock or the greater abundance of other prey.
According to the latest data collected, in the mountains of Madrid it is estimated that there are a stable population of wolves estimated at about five packs reproductives. Specifically, there are about 35 specimens spread across the Sierra del Rincón, the Lozoya valley and the Santa María de la Alameda area, as well as several more to the southwest of Guadarrama.
Five years of study
According to the analysis of 671 stool samples collected between 2017 and 2021, it is concluded that About 82% of the wolf's diet is made up of wild ungulateswhile only 18% corresponds to domestic animals.
These data come to light thanks to the study carried out by Dr. Isabel Barja, professor of Biology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, in collaboration with the research center of the Sierra del Guadarrama National Park.
The work has been able to be carried out thanks to the financial support It was provided by the Ministry of the Environment, Local Administration and Territorial Planning of the Community of Madrid and the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park.
The favorites of your diet
The results of the analyzes are collected in the study that has already been published in the magazine Animals, studying the composition of their diet and examining the prey hairs found in these samples of wolf excrement.
The data reveal that wolves predominantly consumed wild ungulates rather than domestic ones. Between their favorite prey There were wild boar and roe deer, “although their diet varied according to the seasons, years and forest regions, the preference for wild ungulates over domestic ones remained constant,” according to the researchers.
Conflict between wolves and ranchers
One of the objectives of the work has been to study the composition of their diet in central Spain to evaluate the consumption of domestic ungulates and provide reliable data that could help local authorities address the current conflict and coexistence between wolves and ranchers.
Specifically, the authors explain that “to understand the feeding habits of the Iberian wolf, our objective was to evaluate to what extent they take advantage of domestic ungulates.”
It has been demonstrated through analysis of excrement that the consumption of domestic livestock is well below 10% in the diet of the wolf present in the Guadarrama mountain rangeThis is favored because a large part of the livestock present in the area is cattle or horses, far above sheep or goats.
Encourage your diet
And the best option, offering and encouraging their diet to protect livestock from wolf attacks, can focus on activating and maintain good ungulate populationss in the park, especially focusing on roe deer and wild boar.
This is reflected in the study that recommends «maintain a diverse and abundant wild prey populationespecially during troubled seasons when domestic animals are present in the field, may help reduce or prevent attacks on livestock, as supported by other studies.
Among the conclusions, it is reiterated that “it is necessary to preserve the availability and diversity of wild ungulates to promote the reduction of livestock attacksan achievable goal that would help conserve this species and reduce conservation conflicts.