130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Figure 1a.
Distribution of
Southern chamois
in 1955 [15] and 2008 [12] .
Please note that the
1955 distribution
represents an
over-estimation
of the species’
actual range as the
resolution is much
coarser than that for
2008 and includes
areas of unsuitable
habitat for chamois.
Figure 1b.
Map highlighting
areas of range
expansion,
persistence and
contraction of the
Southern chamois
in Europe between
1955 and 2008. Please
note that contraction
observed from 1955
to 2008 is likely to
be an artefact of the
difference in map
resolution between
the two time periods.
a minimum of 16,400 individuals, or 25% of the
species’ global population estimate. Figure 2 shows
that there was an increase in overall abundance
which became progressively greater throughout
the first three decades. Between 2000 and 2005,
there was still an increase but this was much less
pronounced than between 1970 and 1999. In total
there was an increase in species-wide abundance
of over 500% from 1970 to 2005. The country
coverage was comprehensive and population trend
data were available from all three subspecies. The
data set was missing information largely from
populations in the French Pyrenees but also from
some of the reserves in Spain.
Drivers of recovery
Our analysis revealed no significant factors for
either positive or negative abundance change.
The population trends shown in Figure 2 are
reflective of the three subspecies, which have all
recovered from historic low levels and are currently
increasing in number [1] . The combination of uncontrolled
hunting and the modernization of firearms
had drastically reduced chamois numbers in the
mid-20 th century, so management interventions
such as hunting legislation and the establishment
of hunting reserves in Spain allowed populations to
recover (Table 3). In France, translocations have been
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