DESCRIPTION
The data set contains the results of the analysis of 102 grey wolf (Canis lupus) scats collected in Kamieniecka Forest (Puszcza Kamieniecka) and adjacent farmland, central Poland, between 13 April 2024 and 13 December 2025. The scats come from a single wolf family group living in a fragmented, intensively managed pine forest ca. 30 km from Warsaw. For each scat, the data set gives the collection date and coordinates, the dry mass of undigested remains, the presence of each food item (including traces) and the proportion of scat volume made up by each food item, together with the consumed biomass of each item calculated with digestibility coefficients.
METHODS
Scat collection: We collected wolf scats opportunistically, mainly along forest roads, and identified them by size (diameter ca. 3 cm, length 10–30 cm), content of hair and bones, and smell. We recorded the location of each scat with GPS.
Laboratory analysis: We dried the scats (24 h, 70 °C), washed them through a 0.5 mm mesh, dried them again and weighed the remains. We identified hair, bones, hooves, teeth, claws, feathers, skin, plant tissue and refuse using reference material collected during the study and held by the Association for Nature "Wolf". We identified mammals to species, except small rodents (order level) and birds (class level), and classified cervid remains that could not be assigned to species as Cervidae undetermined. We visually estimated the proportion of scat volume made up by each food item and recorded items making up < 5% of volume as traces (presence = 1, volume = 0).
Consumed biomass (columns biom_coef_g_*): dry mass of remains × volume share × digestibility coefficient – 118 for wild ungulates, 50 for medium-sized mammals (beaver, badger, raccoon dog, dog), 23 for small rodents, 35 for birds and 4 for plant material (Jędrzejewska & Jędrzejewski 1998).
CONTENT OF THE DATA SET
Number of records: 102 scats (one row per scat).
VARIABLES
sample_id, collection_date, year, month, season, latitude, longitude, dry_mass_remains_g;
pres_<item> – presence of the food item (0/1, traces included);
vol_<item> – proportion of scat volume (0–1);
biom_coef_g_<item> – consumed biomass calculated with digestibility coefficients (g);
Food item codes: roe_deer (Capreolus capreolus), red_deer (Cervus elaphus), cervid_ind (Cervidae undetermined), wild_boar (Sus scrofa), beaver (Castor fiber), badger (Meles meles), raccoon_dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), dog (Canis familiaris), rodents (Rodentia), birds (Aves), plants (plant material), refuse (anthropogenic refuse).
Missing values: none in the data columns; 0 denotes absence (pres_*) or a share below 5% of scat volume (vol_*).
(2026-10-16)
