Sometimes, avoiding bad company is a matter of survival. The fallow deer knows this well, and does its best to steer clear of its natural predator—the wolf—amid the idyllic Tuscan landscape.
This article examines the antipredator responses of fallow deer to recolonizing wolves in a Mediterranean protected area using camera trapping.
The study analyzed temporal and spatial activity patterns of both species and fallow deer vigilance. Our results indicate a spatial association between wolves and fallow deer, with fallow deer not avoiding areas with higher wolf activity. Instead, fallow deer exhibited increased diurnal activity, particularly in autumn and winter, and female fallow deer demonstrated higher vigilance in locations with more frequent wolf activity, suggesting a focus on temporal avoidance and increased vigilance rather than spatial avoidance.
Find out more about this study here.
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