WINTER DIET OF RED DEER STAG (CERVUS-ELAPHUS L) AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO MORPHOLOGY AND HABITAT IN CENTRAL SPAIN

The winter diet of red deer stags in a mediterranean environment of Central Spain is studied. Tree foliage and shrubs made up 95.5% of the diet, particularly Quercus rotundifolia (35.4%). Arbutus unedo (19.7%), Rosmarinus officinalis (9.4%), Phillyrea angustifolia (7%), Erica spp. and Cistus ladanifer. Herbaceous species formed 4% of the diet, mainly in a dry condition. There was a high similarity between the diets in the two periods studied, December and the end of January, with greater diversity in December. In January, the dominance of Quercus rotundifolia and Arbutus unedo increased. A relationship was detected of diet with body weight and antler growth. The largest animals consumed Arbutus unedo heavily, indicating a preference for forest understories with dense developed shrubs in mountain areas, while the smaller individuals associated with Erica umbellata, Phillyrea angustifolia and herbaceous species, had a wider diet niche and occupied less sheltered zones.