Abstract
Studies on food habit were performed by analysing the contents of fecal samples of Meles meles anakuma (231), Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus (127), Martes melampus melampus (217) and Vulpes vulpes japonica (155), collected at Nyugasa-yama (Mt. Nyugasa), Nagano Prefecture during 1985-87. Martes takes a variety of food throughout the year and therefore is omnivorous.
Vulpes is also omnivorous, although it has a tendency to depend upon small mammals and Lepus brachyurus. Nyctereutes does not depend upon a particular kind of food and has seasonal changes in its main food, having similarities to those of Meles. Furthermore, it has more benefit from human food remainder than others species. Meles uses earthworms, insects, berries and seeds for its main food, and particularly has a tendency to depend upon earthworms. These results suggest a hard competition for food between Nyctereutes and Meles due to high multiplicities thereon in comparison with the other species.
