Wild Cat and Wild Canid Interspecific Conflict

[smedz]

From the USA to Russia, from Brazil to Kenya, cats and dogs just don't get along. Post whatever information on the subject, some debate is welcomed but no dog pit fights. 



lynxinbelarus.com/2017/08/21/lynx-wolf-interference/     





Interference competition between lynx and wolf
To study lynx-wolf interference through telemetry means having both wolves and lynxes (radio/GPS) collared in the same study area; as stated before this requires a huge effort and investment. If the result of such a study is that both species are overlapping in home-range and frequently using the same sites, what does this say about the relation between both species? Does this necessarily mean there is no interference competition between the two predators, as suggested by some researchers? We believe not.

Afbeelding1
On this composite photograph we see a lynx walking in the footsteps of a wolf. In fact, this large adult male lynx was photographed only three minutes after the wolf had passed.
By reading the available literature and talking to wolf and lynx researchers, it becomes evident that interference between the two species is actually poorly studied. Some mammalogists tend to assume that wolves suppress the lynx population. Some even suggest details of aggressive behaviour of wolves towards lynxes: strong wolf-packs attack lynx family groups and kill kits during lynx mating season, when the kits stay alone or disperse. Seemingly, such stories are only speculative believes and ideas. We collected evidence that the opposite is actually true, at least in the dense forests of Belarus.

Vulnerable wolves

Many people find it hard to believe that lynxes can kill healthy wolves, let alone on a scale in which it has severe impact on the composition of wolf packs. After all, one lynx is no match for a wolf pack, right? Even a large adult male lynx would expose itself to serious risk of being killed, if it tried to fight with a wolf pack. Indeed, a lynx will never attack a wolf pack.

IMG_0194improved.jpg
Wolf pack in winter
However, wolves are not always in packs. They live in packs in the cold season (from late september until mid-April) and even then many wolves walk around alone. In the warm season (from mid-April until late September), wolves walking alone are more common then wolves living in small packs.

Just before denning and 10-20 days after parturition, the parent wolves are alone most of the time: the mother is at the den, the father forages. Female wolves in the last decades of pregnancy are clumsy, and when their males are foraging they are very vulnerable.

The majority of yearlings that are chased away from the new denning site by their parents walk alone, even if there are several of them.

Pups of the year are another category of vulnerable wolves. They stay alone from the age of 15-20 days until they start to move with the parents (i.e. from mid-May until mid-September). During these months, wolf pups can easily be killed by lynxes.

4 (1).JPG
Wolf pups are very vulnerable for lynx attacks
Moreover, we got convinced that an adult lynx – especially a big male – can win a fight from any lone wolf. We photo-documented a fight between a (not very big and quite old, i.e. older than eight years) male lynx and a (not small) adult male wolf. The lynx threw the wolf on its back, attacking it’s vulnerable belly. The lynx won the fight, and we have good reasons to assume the wolf died from its injuries. Before the fight, we frequently photographed this easily recognisable wolf , a few hours after the fight, the visibly gravely wounded wolf was photographed one more last time.

So, it’s clear that lynxes have plenty of opportunities to kill wolves. In forests, lynxes are also less vulnerable to attacks of wolf packs because they can climb in trees and so escape from danger.

A wolf comes around the corner and bumps into a lynx at it’s marking point


Lynxes killing wolves: documented cases

During many years of studying wolves and lynxes in Belarus and spending vast amounts of time in the wild, only lynxes killed by lynxes (males killed by other males and kittens killed by males) were found. We never found any lynx (kittens or adult) killed by wolves.

Afbeelding15
Male lynx killed by another male lynx during mating season, inspection of the injuries excluded wolf as the killer
In contrast, we found several wolf pups of various age and pregnant wolves killed by lynx.

Cases of wolves found dead (1995-2017); presence of lynx tracks, lynx hairs and lynx bite marks on the wolf carcasses proved they were killed by lynx:

Pregnant females: 2 certain + 1 plausible (killed by lynx or – less likely – by another wolf)
wolf pups < 1 month old: 1 certain
wolf pups 2-11 months old: 8 certain
Afbeelding5
Wolf pup (5-6 months old) killed by lynx
Afbeelding4
Wolf pup (5-6 months old) killed by lynx
Moreover, tracking and camera trapping provided us with further proof. We have registered lynxes systematically following wolves and inspecting freshly used wolf burrows and dens during wolf denning season to search for wolfpups.

Cases of wolves killed by lynx, found by camera trapping and tracking:

wolf litters < 1 months old: 2 certain (2016 and 2017), 2 very plausible (2017)
wolf litters 2-3 months old: 1 very plausible (2016)
adult wolf (mother of litter 2-3 months old): 1 very plausible (2016)
adult wolf (male): 1 plausible (2017)
and escapes…
Wolf parents at the den with pups
Body language and marking behaviour as indicators of interspecific relations

Camera trap images can also show us the body-language of lynx and wolf, giving clues about their interspecific relations (e.g. wolves taking subordinate postures at lynx marking points).

Below some examples of the responses of wolves to lynx odour, documented by camera traps:

a pack of four wolves approaching a dead tree where a female and a male lynx had marked previously by urinating. Two of the pack members cautiously inspected the tree with their ears flat, a clear sign of fear and/or subordination.

a male wolf was photographed crossing an abandoned forestry bridge with extreme caution (walking very slowly, step by step). Later on the same day when the pictures of the wolf were taken we found fresh tracks revealing why the wolf behaved this way: a lynx walked by shortly before the wolf arrived. The lynx approached the bridge from the ice and walked just outside the detection zone of the camera trap. When the wolf appeared, it hesitated to cross the bridge, inspected the lynx tracks and cautiously walked in its footsteps. There are no pictures of the lynx but its footprints can be seen on the pictures with the wolf, while they were missing in earlier pictures of other animals crossing the bridge.

By camera trapping important marking points of both lynx and wolf we found a consistent pattern. Wolves are usually interested in lynx marking points and inspect them with caution, while lynxes photographed at wolf marking points usually act indifferent and uninterested.

Afbeelding8
Wolves at a lynx marking point
Impact of lynx on wolf reproduction, pack composition, immigration and emigration

Since 1999, the wolf population of the Naliboki Forest has been thoroughly monitored and its reproduction biology meticulously studied (Sidorovich 2016, Sidorovich & Rotenko 2018). Over the years 1999-2014, the number of wolf packs varied between 6 and 14, and the number of wolves between 27 and 70. Wolf population density in early winter varied from 0.9 to 2.5, with mean of 1.8/100 km². A total of 37 dens with pups and 92 denning plots with recent dens were discovered. Litter size in May ranged from 1 to 11, with a mean of 5,8. Before 2015 pup survival by the beginning of winter was on average 52%.

Sudden and dramatic changes in wolf numbers and pack composition were limited, and mostly related to killing of wolves by hunters. These changes generally occurred predictably during and shortly after wolf hunting season in late winter (February-March). After 2010, wolf hunting was limited or restricted in a part of the Naliboki Forest. Despite the (irregular) killing of wolves by hunters, there has been a fairly high stability in the wolf population for many years.

In recent years lynx numbers have increased markedly in the Naliboki Forest: from 22 in 2013-2014 to at least 60 in 2016-2017 (part of the forest wasn’t censused in detail in this winter). At the same time, we start to notice three pronounced processes in the wolf population:

dissapearance of the majority of litters and pups (extremely low pup survival rate)
2015: 6-7 litters in May, only 4 pups (from 2 litters) survived untill early winter
2016: 10 litters in May, only 6 pups (from 2 litters) survived untill early winter
2017: 9 litters in May, before mid-june three litters dissapeared already. By october only two pups (from 2 litters) were left!
immigration of wolves in January-February
winter 2015-2016: 30 wolves in mid December, 44 wolves in late January; arrival of 2 new packs (8 + 2 juv., 6+2 juv.) + several other shifts (dissapearance and arrival of lone individuals or small groups). 54 wolves in early March, despite the fact that at least 15 wolves were killed by hunters!
winter 2016-2017: 29 wolves in November-mid December, 57 wolves in late february, despite the fact that at least 7 wolves were killed by hunters!
emigration of wolves in April
2016: in May there were about 36 adults/subadults, while there were 54 in early March
2017: in May there were about 35 adults/subadults, while there were 57 in late February
The phenomenon of large-scale immigrations might have happened in the winter 2014-2015 already, but we weren’t able to record these changes in detail due to the weather conditions.

Low wolf numbers and instability in the packs at the beginning of winter allows vagrants to settle during wolf mating season, resulting in high wolf numbers by the end of winter.

As to emigration of wolves in April, we think that at least a part of the wolves that arrive in the forest in late winter – being confronted with high lynx densities – chooses to leave the forest again in search of safer denning areas with no or fewer lynxes. Those can be found in more rural landscapes where forest fragments are interspersed with open agricultural land.

As described above, we have registered many cases of wolves killed by lynxes, and not vice versa. In recent years, there has been a marked increase in lynx numbers and a total absence of any other significant changes that might effect wolf population dynamics (e.g. increased poaching, diseases,..). So, evidently these recent changes in wolf population dynamics are connected with lynx interference.

With the current high lynx densities, the Naliboki Forest acts as a reproduction pitfall for wolves. The wolf population persists, not because of it’s reproduction, but due to immigration from adjacent rural areas with fewer lynxes.

The findings above demonstrate the complexity which has to be taken into account when considering the possible impact of lynxes on wolf populations. If one would only compare wolf numbers in mid winter over the years, no significant changes will be found. Taking reproduction, pup survival rate, pack composition, immigration and emigration into account reveals a completely different story…

The diversified Belarusian forests of today, particularly the Naliboki Forest, clearly favour lynxes over wolves. However we do not claim that lynxes are dominant over wolves in all circumstances. Other areas where both species live might favour wolves over lynxes.

In Belarus, the ecological conditions in large, continuous forests were not always in favour of lynxes. From historical hunting archives, we know that in the 17th to the 19th century, both ungulates and lynxes were far less common in Belarus (at that time Great Lithuania). Wolves on the other hand, were common. The forests back then were a lot less disturbed and had a more primeval character. Intensification of logging in the 20th century lead to the appearance of clear cuts with reforestations, which markedly increased habitat carrying capacity for both ungulates and lynxes. We hypothesize that logging in large continuous forests increases interference between lynxes and wolves, leading to a pitfall situation in wolf reproduction.

[smedz]

lynxinbelarus.com/2017/12/21/lynxes-and-medium-sized-predators/    





Impact of lynxes and wolves on foxes and raccoon dogs
Below we consider the combined impact of lynxes and wolves on the populations of red foxes and raccoon dogs, because their predation effects on the populations of the victim species are hard to separate. First, we list the gained data on the killing rate of red foxes and raccoon dogs by lynxes and wolves from two main different methods i.e. telemetry and snowtracking.


Wolf and lynx killing rates of foxes and raccoon dogs

By radiotagging red foxes and raccoon dogs in Paazierrie Forest and Naliboki Forest, we found out that more than half (34 out of 64) of the radiotagged red foxes and raccoon dogs were killed by lynxes and wolves, almost an equal share each. 22 out of these 34 victim red foxes and raccoon dogs were killed by lynxes and wolves in mid-April till end of July; the period of denning and raising of small pups and kittens by wolves and lynxes, respectively.

_MG_1643_2
Radiotagged raccoon dog
Similarly, by averaging snowtracking data on wolves (about 2200 km of wolf trails were tracked in 1990-2008), we calculated that a wolf killed one red fox per 28 days and one raccoon dog per 19 days. During a year a wolf killed on average 13 red foxes and 19 raccoon dogs. Only 15.2% of red foxes killed (n=33) and 22.7% of raccoon dogs killed (n=66) were at least partly eaten by the wolves. So, wolves eat killed carnivores less frequently than lynxes. The following example illustrates that: a wolf pack of four individuals snowtracked in the beginning of December killed three red foxes and two raccoon dogs during approximately five days, and only one of the raccoon dogs was eaten half. Only one out of 53 scats of the wolves collected on their trails contained raccoon dog hair.

However, those snowtracking-based estimates on how many red foxes and raccoon dogs were killed annually by wolves and lynxes are surely considerably lower than the real number annual kills. During summer and autumn this may happen more frequently, because young foxes and raccoon dogs are easier victims. Moreover, denning and raising of pups and kittens force parent wolves and lynxes to kill red foxes and raccoon dog more frequently, because these medium-sized carnivores are dangerous for their offspring. Actually, in the warm season we discovered many young red foxes and raccoon dogs killed by lynxes and wolves (see the data below), but from that data it is hard to calculate the killing rate. However, based on these findings it is reasonable to think that the values on annual kill rates derived from snowtracking are a two to three fold underestimation from reality.

Population effects

So, what impacts does this have on the populations of the red fox and the raccoon dog? Red foxes are known to be very resilient to high mortality rates. For example, Hewson (1986) found that killing of foxes by humans in winter did not lead to fewer breeding dens the following spring, and it has been demonstrated that fox populations under pressure of artificial density reduction can compensate their losses, for example by increasing their litter size (Marlow et al., 2016). The raccoon dog is characterized by a high breeding rate (e.g. Kauhala, 1996; Sidorovich, 2011). Are the losses large enough to cause a decline in their densities? Which factors are at play? These questions are almost impossible to answer in all their details without a long-term and detailed study with a high budget. Nevertheless, we succeeded to collect interesting data that shed light on the topic.

_MG_1191
Red fox killed by lynx
Lynx numbers have increased from 5-15 in the whole forest in the early 2000’s to at least 80 nowadays. Over the years 1999-2014, the number of wolf packs varied between 6 and 14, and the number of wolves between 27 and 70. However, since lynxes reached high densities, wolf numbers have become very variable within the year, as a result of the killing of wolves by lynxes and the subsequent immigration and emigration of wolves (more details in ‘Interference competition between lynx and wolf’). Fox numbers have decreased 10-20 fold in 2014-2018 compared to the 2000’s, when there were 50-70 foxes per 100 km².

Nowadays, having 5-8 individuals of wolves and lynxes in total per 100 km² of the forest, red foxes got indeed rare during mid winter – only one individual per 10-20 km² on average.

To look at the impact that lynxes and wolves have on foxes by killing red foxes, it is worthwhile to compare the data on breeding of red foxes in Naliboki Forest in the first decade of the 2000’s and nowadays. In the springs of 2017 and 2018 we faced with really few red fox denning in Naliboki forest. This was the result of a low number of potential red fox-breeders during early spring due to the losses caused by large carnivores in winter, and then because lynxes and wolves kill vixens during the period of denning and raising of small kittens and pups. Particularly wolves specialize in killing of vixens in their denning area. Parent wolves kill or drive all vixens away from their denning area of about 10-20 km2. We did not face with any exceptions on this rule during our long-term experience with wolf denning behaviour (Sidorovich and Rotenko, 2018). Usually wolf breeders kill vixens at their denning earths. One of them is digging in the red fox earth, while the other one is lying in an ambuscade in close proximity. This deep digging into the burrow greatly disturbs the vixen, and finally it tries to escape. The wolf waiting in ambuscade overtakes the escaping fox and kills it. Usually the carcass of the vixen can be found 30-100 meters from the destroyed burrow. Killing of raccoon dogs by wolves during the denning period at their dens in a similar manner as in the case of the red fox is not so common. Lynxes on the other hand, deliberately hunt and kill all possible raccoon dog cubs, as well as red fox cubs at their earths and young, dispersing red foxes.

Here it is worthwhile to notice that, based on extensive camera-trapping, during the last two winters there were relatively few cases of mange disease among red foxes; so, the decline in red foxes was not caused by the mange disease. Moreover, during the last two winters red foxes were registered by camera-traps about 120 times more often just outside of Naliboki Forest than inside. So, this means that there is a crucial impact on red foxes inside Naliboki Forest; and that may be just predation by lynxes and wolves. First of all, lynxes could be responsible for the decline in red foxes, because during the last years (2016-2018) lynxes got more common in Naliboki Forest than wolves, and lynxes were registered as more frequent fox killers than wolves.

Snow tracking foxes in the winter 2016-2017 revealed pronounced lynx avoidance behaviour in foxes. Of the remaining foxes of the Naliboki Forest, 80 % live almost exclusively in grassy openings. Trails left by individual foxes during several days showed they hardly ever go inside the surrounding forest habitats. This behaviour is unprecedented in the Naliboki Forest. In the 2000’s foxes were common in all forest habitats and foxes that went hunting in grassy openings used the neighbouring forest habitats a lot as well.

Afbeelding3
Red fox distribution in an outlined part of the Naliboki Forest, winter 2016-2017
Investigation of the red fox distribution by track registrations in Naliboki Forest in the winters of 2016-2018 revealed pronounced lynx avoidance behaviour of red foxes. Of the remaining foxes of the Naliboki Forest, most of them (84%, n=96) lived almost exclusively in grassy openings. Trails left by individual foxes after several days showed they hardly ever go inside the surrounding forest habitats. For instance, in November 2016, the majority of the trails left by two red foxes during three days in the Pawdniovaje Wyunishcha locality werein the open grassland, with few visits in the neighbouring forest habitats. By crossing the place of their stay we counted 241 and 168 trails in the opening with only 3 and 7 trails entering the forest habitats. This behaviour is unprecedented in the Naliboki Forest. In the 2000’s foxes were common in all forest habitats and foxes that went hunting in grassy openings used the neighbouring forest habitats a lot as well (see Sidorovich, 2016 for the details). Red foxes stay in openings because lynxes usually do not venture themselves to walk in open areas , where they are vulnerable against possible wolf attacks.

The few foxes that still survive within densely forested habitats are mostly large adult males.

lynx-fox
Adult male lynx and large male fox at a marking point. This was one the few foxes that still survived in densely forested terrain alongside lynxes in the winter 2016-2017.
We determined the age of red foxes that were killed by wolves and lynxes as well the age of red foxes, which died from other unknown causes, in Naliboki Forest in the 2000’s:

Killed by lynxes and wolves: 0+ – 64 inds (69%), 1+ – 16, 2+ – 7, 3+ – 3, 4+ – 1, 5+ – 2; perhaps, there is no much difference between ages of red foxes, which were killed by lynxes (0+ – 30, 1+ – 8, 2+ – 1, 3+ – 3, 5+ – 2) and wolves (0+ – 34 inds, 1+ – 8, 2+ – 6, 4+ – 1).

Died from unknown causes: 0+ – 11 inds (41%), 1+ – 6, 2+ – 4, 3+ – 1, 4+ – 2, 6+ – 2, 8+ – 1.

From the above data it becomes evident that more young red foxes are being killed by lynxes and wolves than they died from other mortality causes. Actually, at least, double more red fox cubs died due to predation by lynxes and wolves. Killing of vixen leads to the death of their cubs. Also, the data suggests that it is hard for lynxes and in particular for wolves to kill older, more experienced red foxes.

So, in 2016-2018 in Naliboki Forest wolves and particularly lynxes clearly had a strong impact on red fox populations, but how about other area’s? Let’s have a look at long term data on red fox, wolf and lynx densities (given as multiannual mean) in several (predominantly forested) study areas in Belarus with different habitat carrying capacity:

Krasny Bor terrain, western Paazierre Forest: mostly forests on sand and peat, mixed with richer soils, medium habitat carrying capacity (similar to Naliboki Forest)
1990’s: 1 lynxes/100 km², 1-2 wolves/100 km², 56 red foxes/100 km²

2005-2014: 3-6 lynxes/100 km², 0.5-1 wolves/100 km², 10 foxes/100 km²

Lovat terrain, eastern Paazierre Forest: forests on rich soil (clay), interspersed with a lot of rough grassland, high habitat carrying capacity
1990’s: 3.1 lynxes/100 km², 1.8 wolves/100 km², 158 foxes/100 km²

Palata terrain, central Paazierre Forest: forests on very poor sandy soils, very low habitat carrying capacity
1990’s: almost no lynxes, 0.5-1 wolves/100 km², 26 foxes/100 km²

The above examples suggest that the impact of lynxes and wolves on red fox population densities heavily depends on habitat carrying capacity. In the Lovat terrain with the ecologically rich forests interspersed with a lot of rough grasslands, all these species (lynxes, wolves and red foxes) reached quite high densities in the 1990’s. But if we look at the Krasny Bor terrain with medium habitat carrying capacity, we notice the same pattern as we observed in the Naliboki forest: red fox numbers in a drastic decline, when lynxes reach high densities, resulting in unsaturated red fox populations. Even in the Palata terrain with very low habitat carrying capacity in pine forest on barren sandy soil and with few lynxes and wolves, red fox density was still higher.

So, wolves and particularly lynxes seem to be able to reduce the fox population significantly only if habitat carrying capacity for red foxes is medium: around 50-70 individuals/100 km² (Naliboki Forest and Krasny Bor). If habitat carrying capacity is very low (both for foxes and lynxes), lynx densities are too low to have an impact on red fox numbers, allowing foxes to have a saturated population. If habitat carrying capacity is very high, wolves and even lynxes are not able to keep the red fox population at a low level.

Impact on raccoon dogs and shared prey?

Concerning the impact of wolves and lynxes on raccoon dog populations, it is going on a markedly different way. Raccoon dogs are medium-sized predators with a very high fertility rate. When raccoon dogs are numerous and their populations arte in a healthy state, killing of them by large predators has very little to no effect on their densities. Moreover, raccoon dogs are less vulnerable from predator attacks than red foxes in winter, because they spend a lot of time sleeping in burrows or in other kinds of safe refuges.

However, there is another factor at play. Raccoon dogs in Belarus are characterized by a population cycle of about 40-years due to infestations of the trematode Alaria alata and mange (see Rotenko & Sidorovich 2017 for more information on the raccoon dog population cycle).

When raccoon dogs are in decline and reach their cyclical low, lynxes and wolves (when occurring in moderate to high densities) seem to be able to exacerbate their decline and keep their numbers at a low level for a longer period.

Afbeelding2
Raccoon dog killed by wolves
In Naliboki Forest raccoon dogs reached a cyclical low in the early 2010’s. In 2013 an event took place which has probably exacerbated the impact of lynx and wolf on raccoon dogs even more. Due to a crash in roe deer and wild boar numbers, both lynxes and wolves had to switch to alternative prey. Shortly after the crash, lynxes and wolves started to increase their predation on raccoon dogs. An initial period of adaption to lower numbers in roe deer caused wolves to predate on a lot of unusual prey such as red foxes and raccoon dogs, but after a few months they adapted to the new situation by starting to predate larger ungulates such as red deer and elk (Sidorovich et al., 2017). Since 2016, lynx numbers in Naliboki Forest increased a lot, up to 4-5 individuals per 100 km2, and there were still quite many wolves, especially in mid-winter. So, again the killing rate of raccoon dogs by the large carnivores was excessive, suppressing the species population at a low density. In this unfavourable situation the last raccoon dogs survive within highly heterogeneous swamps and inundated habitats (87%, n=79) such as abandoned peatories or large inundations by beavers along a canal network within spruce and black alder forest with a lot of treefall and dead standing treesas well as other rough swamped forests.

So, when raccoon dogs are in decline and reach their cyclical low, the combined effect of predation by both lynxes and wolves (when occurring in moderate to high densities) exacerbates their decline and keeps their numbers at a low level for a longer period. This in turn impacts shared prey such a Black Grouse and Capercaillie. The decline in Tetraonids (mostly black grouse and capercaillie) in Belarus can be attributed largely to predation by the non-native and invasive raccoon dog, because raccoon dogs can reach very high densities and they are more effective than foxes to hunt hens with chicks because they hunt in pairs (Sidorovich 2011).

DSCN9441_web
Capercaillie hens often fall victim to Raccoon dogs, especially when they have chicks

[King Kodiak]

BULLDOG KILLS LEOPARD






trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/126054660?searchTerm=Kills%20leopard

[Montezuma]

I believe,

Tigers dominate wolves, large dhole packs dominate tigers.

Wolves dominate cougars. Cougars dominate maned wolf (not pure wolf) and single coyotes.

Lions dominate jackals and wild dogs.

Wild dog packs dominate leopards and cheetahs.

[brobear]

wildfact.com/forum/topic-dholes-cuon-alpinus?page=16

Pckts - #229:
In regards to Dholes dictating Tiger presence, that has never been the case in the past 20 years in the Reserves with any real Tourist Traffic and Tiger numbers. Honestly, that's probably a conservative guess, I'd imagine that you couldn't find proof of this for longer then that. I know it's mentioned here and there from a few people, but these cases are interpretive and sometimes people like to embellish or see things in a "more exciting" way than it may of actually occurred. The fact remains that a Dhole has never contributed to an Adult Tiger death that we know of in the past 20 years. The reason I use the past 20 years as a barometer is because that's the timeline when Cameras became handheld and footage began to be easier to share. I'm sure a large pack can pester and even hurt a Tigress or young Tiger but it's something that is obviously extremely rare. What's not rare is Tigers hunting Dhole, running them off or dominating them in general.

[yz]

This study demonstrates how wolf packs tend to avoid areas populated by tigers :

Wolf populations across the region decreased coincident with recovery of the tiger population since the 1940s. Today wolves are rare across the range of tigers, being found in scattered pockets, and usually as solo individuals or small groups.

In the absence of tigers, wolves apparently survived (at least intermittently) in relatively large numbers in the Pogranichniy Raion(district) of the Lake Khanka region (Yudin 1992) but disappeared from this fragment of habitat with the arrival of tigers (Matyushkin et al. 1999). Tigers have since disappeared again from this fragment, with reports of wolves returning (Pikunov, pers. comm.).{AQ: pls give date of pers. comm.}

www.researchgate.net/publication/235332612_Tigers_and_Wolves_in_the_Russian_Far_East_Competitive_Exclusion_Functional_Redundancy_and_Conservation_Implications

[yz]

Accounts of cougars killing wolves :

www.researchgate.net/publication/279438536_Gray_Wolves_Canis_lupus_Killed_by_Cougars_Puma_concolor_and_a_Grizzly_Bear_Ursus_arctos_in_Montana_Alberta_and_Wyoming?enrichId=rgreq-f88cf052fdb676ff1573bfed34c7d0fe-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzI3OTQzODUzNjtBUzozMTQ2MTE4MTM4MTQyNzNAMTQ1MjAyMDcwOTE2NA%3D%3D&el=1_x_2&_esc=publicationCoverPdf


The study also stated that wolves tend to ursup cougar kills thanks to their pack outnumbering the cats.

[OldGreenGrolar]

Here is a cougar and wolf size comparison.

[yz]

More info on wolf cougar interactions :


www.researchgate.net/publication/232695019_Interactions_between_cougars_Puma_concolor_and_gray_wolves_Canis_lupus_in_Banff_National_Park_Alberta

It should be noted however that wolves killing pumas and ursurping their kills is possible only when we have the entire pack attacking the lone felid. One on one, most odds would be in the Cougar's favor since it's on average bigger and a superior grappler.

[brobear]

I agree 100%. The wolf in dominant over the cougar only in numbers.

[yz]

Reports of Pantherines and other cat species killing canids :


www.researchgate.net/publication/7109605_Diet_Morphology_and_Interspecific_Killing_in_Carnivora

[arctozilla]

According to Ruth wolves dominate cougars.

books.google.it/books?id=ZSDUxT3fSYEC&pg=PA244&dq=Ruth+(2001,+2005)+has+shown+that+wolves+dominate+cougars+in+Glacier+and+Yellowstone+national+parks.+Wolves+kill+cougars,+steal+their+kills,+and+have+forced+cougars+to+change+their+ranges.&hl=it&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiE4ru0u6r5AhVCOHoKHZtZAKAQ6AF6BAgJEAM

[arctozilla]

Did you knew that wild dogs are good actors? The can play dead to escape lions.

[arctozilla]

Cougars are subordinate to bears and wolves.
books.google.it/books?id=nnrtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA120&dq=Cougars+are+subordinate+to&hl=it&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwid_PGjleD5AhXCOHoKHUocCsAQ6AF6BAgDEAM

[arctozilla]

www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-world/predator-vs-prey/rare-footage-of-cougar-vs-wolf-battle-in-canadas-wilderness

[arctozilla]

Warning!

Account never seen before: wolves harass tiger.
books.google.it/books?id=1Q8IiQLlIVgC&pg=PA186&dq=wolves+harass+tigers&hl=it&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjY0K7xk-D5AhUPVfEDHYpuA58Q6AF6BAgIEAM

[brobear]

Aug 24, 2022 14:00:01 GMT -5 arctozilla said:

Warning!

Account never seen before: wolves harass tiger.
books.google.it/books?id=1Q8IiQLlIVgC&pg=PA186&dq=wolves+harass+tigers&hl=it&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjY0K7xk-D5AhUPVfEDHYpuA58Q6AF6BAgIEAM

The Trail of the Old Ones Paperback – July 3, 2012

by Raymond Drake Forehand 
 
www.amazon.com/Trail-Ones-Raymond-Drake-Forehand/dp/1463436521 
 
*Note: This book is a work of fiction strongly based on fact. But fiction nevertheless. I will add; the kind of book I could enjoy reading.

[brobear]

This fight, found by arctozilla, is interesting. As is stated in the video, fights between two large predators is rare. Leaving the question, why were they fighting? 
                                                                 

[OldGreenGrolar]

/\ Probably over territory or food.