Eco-éthologie de l’alimentation du blaireau européen (Meles meles L.) dans une forêt du centre de la France

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Diet composition of European badgers (M. meles L.) was studied for 1 yr, from June 1981 to June 1982, in a natural forest in the center of France (Chambord). As feces were collected regularly twice a week, they could be analyzed for temporal fluctuations in the composition of the diet. The percentage of badger feces in which particular food items occurred and the relative weight of these items in the diet were estimated. The diet consists largely of earthworms and toads; other food items are of little importance, except during summer (dung beetles: Scarabaeidae, apples and pears; slugs: Indian corn; ground beetles: Carabidae, fungi, blackberries; wasps: Vespidae; and bumble bees: Apidae). Food items fluctuated in the diet relative to availability. The most important alternative prey to earthworms is toads; they are eaten during summer when no earthworms are available. In 1 case, badgers are able to select food without respect to apparent availability: in early spring, when earthworms are available, badgers feed mostly upon toads congregating near a pond during the mating period. Some adaptive trends in foraging behavior are described. The dominant food during winter is earthworms; they are available on nights when temperatures are > 0.degree. C; when temperature is too low, badgers do not emerge; they are able to fast many nights under such circumstances. There is some evidence that low temperature has a great indirect effect on emergence, by affecting feeding conditions. Availability of food is one of the most important factors which affect activity periods; badgers are specialists when food is abundant in winter, and generalists when food is scarce in summer. From Feb.-July, activity periods increase, and the diet becomes more generalist (H'' = 2.27, J'' = 0.72 in July); from Aug. to Jan., activity periods decrease, and the diet becomes more specialist (H'' = 0.42, J'' = 0.15 in January). The weight of badgers varies greatly according to the time of the year. The greatest weight occurs in winter; the weights are low during spring and summer. The accumulation of fat in autumn is mainly due to feeding upon earthworms, whose availability increases at this time.