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In an Alpine area, scat analysis and marking activity were used to assess the feeding habits, habitat preference and the degree of overlap of trophic niche and habitat use in sympatric carnivores: the red fox (n = 133 faecal samples), the badger (n = 177), the pine and the stone marten (Martes sp., n = 382). Fruits were the main trophic resource for all species. The diet of martens differed from those of the red fox and badger by means of a higher consumption of garbage and non-Rosaceae fruits. The red fox preyed on more lagomorphs and roe deer and relied almost exclusively on two fruit species, rose-hips and whitebeam berries. Badgers ate few invertebrates, with cultivated fruits and pine seeds forming the bulk of their diet. On the whole, trophic niche overlap was kept low by the exploitation of different species of berries and mammals and, secondly, by seasonal differences in the use of same items by the three carnivores. Badger trophic niche overlapped to a wider extent than those of the other two predators in summer, when fruit availability is higher. Foxes used all habitats according to their availability, except for villages, which were avoided. Badgers used mainly open habitats, particularly Alpine meadows, avoiding villages and mixed woods. Martens selected the habitats avoided by the other two predators and avoided all the others. The narrow range of habitat used by martens and diet evidence suggest that, within the context of interspecific competition, they could play the role of sub-ordinate species, segregating in fox-free urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]