Summer was devoted to tracking prey that was cought by wolves equipped with telemetric collars. For collars, the frequency of locations sent was remotely increased for one calendar month - at night, locations were sent every 30 minutes. This allows us to monitor not only where the wolves go, but also where they hunt and where they stay. All places where the wolves have stayed for a longer period of time may mean feeding on taken prey. We then physically check all those places in order to confirm the possible prey (see photo). In the case of large prey (e.g. red deer), the wolves return to the place repeatedly, and the installed camera traps can then capture them during the processing of the catch. Tracking prey is a very important activity, thanks to which we gain an overview of what deer (age, sex) the wolves choose and how important item are red deer are in the wolf diet. The obtained data will be part of the outputs of the WoBoFE project (Ecological impacts of the return of wolves to the Šumava/Bavarian Forest ecosystem).
