Time budget as related to feeding tactics of European polecat Mustela putorius

The time budget of five male and four female European polecats was studied in western France through radiotracking surveys. Their activity level averaged 7 h and 31 min without any significant differences between males and females. However two phases, foraging and travelling, were not similarly distributed in both sexes. Despite a strong sexual dimorphism, females spent more time foraging than males. Travelling, i.e. time devoted to linear movements was more important in males than females. Variations in activity phase duration were correlated with the proportions of food categories, suggesting that the dispersion of available resources directly influenced polecat activity. The exploitation of prey showing an aggregative distribution such as anurans led to a decrease in general activity whereas the consumption of rodents, which were more regularly distributed, was correlated to the foraging activity. Mating and breeding also affected the activity duration. Thus it seems that the time budget of polecats resulted from a compromise between social organization and trophic constraints.