Foraging behavior of red foxes Vulpes vulpes schrencki utilizing human food in the Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido

抄録

The utilization of human food (provisions) by red foxes, Vulpes vulpes schrencki, in the Shiretoko National Park was investigated to clarify the significance of begging behavior in a natural habitat. An analysis of 736 scats showed that foxes ate prey, such as rodents, insects, fruits, birds and deer, mainly in relation to their seasonal availability. The tendency to depend on a single dietary component increased in the latter half of the tourist season, when many tourists fed foxes, and was lower during the non-tourist season and the first half of the tourist season. The monthly variation in the utilization of provisions did not correlate with availability, and was negatively correlated with the increase in other single dietary components during the tourist season. During the non-tourist season, when relatively little natural food was available, foxes expended great energy to obtain provisions. It is concluded that red foxes in the Shiretoko NP, utilize provisions as a secondary food supply. Such food could be critical for them, however, in order to compensate for the lack of their major natural food resources at certain times of the year.