130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe
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4.1. P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose<br />
Anser brachyrhynchus<br />
Summary<br />
Table 1.<br />
Global IUCN Red List<br />
status [6] , European<br />
population and SPEC<br />
status [7] and EU<br />
population status [8]<br />
of P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose.<br />
There are two flyway populations of P<strong>in</strong>k-footed<br />
goose: the Icelandic breed<strong>in</strong>g population, which<br />
w<strong>in</strong>ters <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>, and the Svalbard breed<strong>in</strong>g<br />
population, which w<strong>in</strong>ters <strong>in</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>ental northwest<br />
Europe. Both populations have <strong>in</strong>creased greatly<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce the 1950s, thanks to improved protection<br />
from shoot<strong>in</strong>g and to the <strong>in</strong>creased availability<br />
of high quality food <strong>in</strong> the w<strong>in</strong>ter<strong>in</strong>g grounds, as<br />
a result of <strong>in</strong>tensification of agricultural practices.<br />
The <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g population of the species has<br />
resulted <strong>in</strong> a conflict with farmers <strong>in</strong> parts of the<br />
flyway, as the P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose causes damage<br />
to agricultural land. International cooperation is<br />
necessary <strong>in</strong> order to effectively manage this issue<br />
at the flyway scale.<br />
Background<br />
General description of the species<br />
The P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus)<br />
is a migratory goose species found <strong>in</strong> northwest<br />
Scale Status Justification<br />
Global<br />
Least Concern Very large range and population size, which<br />
(s<strong>in</strong>ce 1988) appears to be <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Europe<br />
EU25<br />
Secure (Non-<br />
SPECE)<br />
Secure<br />
Increas<strong>in</strong>g population.<br />
Europe and Greenland. It breeds <strong>in</strong> loose colonies<br />
from mid-May to early July and then undergoes<br />
a flightless moult<strong>in</strong>g period until August. After<br />
moult<strong>in</strong>g, P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese migrate to their<br />
w<strong>in</strong>ter<strong>in</strong>g grounds. Outside the breed<strong>in</strong>g season,<br />
P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese are gregarious, form<strong>in</strong>g large<br />
but loose flocks <strong>in</strong> autumn and w<strong>in</strong>ter [1] .<br />
Distribution <strong>in</strong> Europe<br />
There are two populations of P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose,<br />
with almost no <strong>in</strong>terchange or overlapp<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of breed<strong>in</strong>g or w<strong>in</strong>ter<strong>in</strong>g distributions [1] . One<br />
population breeds <strong>in</strong> Svalbard and w<strong>in</strong>ters <strong>in</strong><br />
northwest Europe (nearly the entire population<br />
concentrates <strong>in</strong> Denmark, and a decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
proportion of birds moves further south to the<br />
Netherlands and Belgium). The second breeds <strong>in</strong><br />
Iceland and east Greenland and w<strong>in</strong>ters <strong>in</strong> Scotland<br />
and England [2, 3] .<br />
Habitat preferences<br />
In Greenland, P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese nest on cliffs,<br />
riverbanks and hummocks near dense vegetation.<br />
In Iceland, P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese used to forage <strong>in</strong> the<br />
uplands <strong>in</strong> spr<strong>in</strong>g and autumn, but currently the<br />
majority forage on farmland, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g potato<br />
fields and improved grasslands. In the UK, salt<br />
and fresh marshes were used <strong>in</strong> the past, but the<br />
majority of P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese now forage on<br />
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