Camera Traps Detect Prey of Northern Carnivores

David A. Keiter^1,*, Brent R. Patterson², Carol Dersch³, Bob Elliott³, Arthur R. Rodgers⁴, and John F. Benson¹

¹University of Nebraska–Lincoln, School of Natural Resources, Hardin Hall, 3310 Holdrege Street, Lincoln, NE 68583-0995. ²Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry [OMNRF], Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8, Canada. ³OMNRF, Ontario Parks, Lake Superior Provincial Park, PO Box 267, Park Floor 1, Wawa, ON P0S 1K0, Canada. ⁴OMNRF, Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research, 103-421 James Street South, Thunder Bay, ON P7E 2V6, Canada. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 27, Issue 2 (2020): N28–N33

Abstract
Use of camera traps for non-invasive data collection is increasingly common in wildlife studies. This technique presents a valuable, but generally unexploited, opportunity to learn about carnivore diet through direct observations of predators with prey. To highlight this potential, we present a collection of photographic observations from Michipicoten Island, ON, Canada, that improve our knowledge of the diets of northern carnivores. These include the first documentation of Vulpes vulpes (Red Fox) consumption of a Colaptes auratus (Northern Flicker) and the first photographic evidence of wintertime consumption of a Lithobates sp. (frog) by a Mustela erminea (Short-tailed Weasel). We discuss the implications of these observations and the use of camera traps to gather data on carnivore diets, including caveats to this technique.

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