Food habits of the wildcat (Felis silvestris) in a peculiar habitat: the Mediterranean high mountain

The feeding spectrum of the wildcat Felis silvestris Schreber, 1777 was studied in two sites with different ecological characteristics, both situated in the same Mediterranean environment in the high mountain of the Sierra Nevada National Park, south-east Spain, where the rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus is absent. Scat analysis (n=101 faeces; n=402 prey items) showed that the diet is based on rodents, fundamentally wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus, Mediterranean pine vole Microtus duodecimcostatus and south-western water vole Arvicola sapidus. Results showed strong differences between the two sites (χ2=74.04, d.f.=5, P