130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Rank Reason for change Description
1 Legislation National hunting law in Spain in 1970 [7] ; given
special protection status in Italy in 1992 [5] ; listed on
Appendix II of the Bern Convention; Annex II and
V of the EU Habitats and Species Directive; CITES
Appendix I for R. p. ornata [17] .
2 Species management –
Reintroductions
3 Land/water protection &
management – Protected
areas
Table 3.
Major reasons for
positive change in
the status of the
Southern chamois in
Europe.
Reintroduction and translocation of the Cantabrian
chamois in Spain to bolster low numbers and reestablish
extirpated populations [4] ; translocations
of the Pyrenean chamois in France to increase
population size where density was low [4] ;
reintroductions and introductions into protected
areas in Italy in the 1990s [16] .
In Spain 18 national hunting reserves were created
in 1966 [7] .
Recent Developments
A proposal was submitted to the CITES 16 th
Conference of the Parties to transfer the Apennine
subspecies from Appendix I to Appendix II [16] . The
reasons behind this are because the subspecies
has national and international protection, the
population trend is increasing, it does not appear
to be in demand in international trade and the
current listing is not in line with regulations
regarding the split-listing of species. This news has
provoked some debate in Italy; on the one hand
there is concern that the risks to the populations
are still there and that the Apennine chamois is
still in need of the strictest protection [18] while
others are hailing it as an illustration of a conservation
success [19, 20] . The final decision was taken to
downgrade the CITES listing to Appendix II [11] .
Recent news on the Pyrenean chamois in France
has come from the health monitoring program
set up by the Parc National des Pyrénées [21] . It
was revealed that pestivirus had returned to the
chamois population in this park and although rates
of mortality are not high, experts are alarmed by
the virulence of the strain so the situation is being
closely monitored. The disease was identified for
the first time in chamois in the early 2000s in
Catalonia and Ariège in 2003 and appears to be
gaining ground to the west of the Pyrenees on both
sides of the border.
The outlook for the Southern chamois is
generally positive as all subspecies continue to
increase in numbers. The concern over disease
means that populations in Spain and France are
being closely monitored and management interventions
such as banning or reducing hunting
can be put into effect if the threat level of disease
is considered too high. Although populations are
increasing, the Apennine chamois continues to be
a cause for conservation concern as shown by the
recent debate on downgrading the CITES listing.
The release of more individuals into introduced
populations is planned in the future to attain
viable populations for this subspecies [16] .
References
1. Herrero, J., Lovari, S. & Berducou, C. 2008.
Rupicapra pyrenaica. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species. [cited 25
February 2013]. Version 2012.2: Available
from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/.
2. Corlatti, L., Lorenzini, R. & Lovari, S. 2011.
The conservation of the chamois Rupicapra
spp. Mammal Review, 41 (2): 163–174.
3. Pérez-Barbería, F.J., Palacios, B., González-
Quirós, P., et al. 2009. La evolución de
la población del rebeco en la cordillera
cantábrica. Evolution of the Cantabrian
chamois population (Rupicapra pyrenaica
parva) in the Cantabrian Mountains (North
of Spain), in El Rebeco Cantábrico (Rupicapra
pyrenaica parva) Conservación y Gestión
de sus poblaciones, F.J. Pérez-Barbería and
B. Palacios, Editors., Organismo Autónomo
Parques Nacionales: Ministerio de Medio
Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino, Madrid.
106–125.
4. Pérez-Barbería, F.J., García-González, R.
& Palacios, B. 2010. Rebeco – Rupicapra
pyrenaica, in Enciclopedia Virtual de los
Vertebrados Españoles, A. Salvador and J.
Cassinello, Editors., Museo Nacional de
Ciencias Naturales, Madrid:
5. Lovari, S., Artese, C., Damiani, G., et al. 2010.
Re-introduction of Apennine chamois to the
Gran Sasso-Laga National Park, Abruzzo,
Italy, in GLOBAL RE-INTRODUCTION
PERSPECTIVES: Additional case-studies from
around the globe., P.S. Soorae, Editor IUCN/
SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group, Abu
Dhabi, UAE: xii + 352 pp.
6. Herrero, J., Garin, I., García-Serrano, A., et al.
1996. Habitat use in a Rupicapra pyrenaica
pyrenaica forest population. Forest Ecology
and Management, 88: 25–29.
7. López-Martín, J.M., Casanovas, R., Garcia-
Petit, J., et al. 2012. Estatus y gestión del
sarrio en el Pirineo catalán.
8. Lovari, S. & Cosentino, R. 1986. Seasonal
habitat selection and group size of the
Abruzzo chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica
ornata) Bolletino di zoologia, 53 (1): 73–78.
9. Council of Europe 1979. Convention On
The Conservation Of European Wildlife And
Natural Habitats. European Treaties Series.
10. Council of Europe 1992. Council Directive
92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural
habitats and of wild fauna and flora.
11. Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) 2013. Appendices I, II and III.
12. IUCN 2011a. The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species. 2011.1: Available from: http://www.
iucnredlist.org/.
13. IUCN 2011b. European Red List. Available
from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/initiatives/europe/european-red-list-site.
14. Festa-Bianchet, M. 2013. Pers. comm.
15. van den Brink, F.H. 1955. A field guide to the
mammals of Britain and Europe, London,
UK: Collins & Sons. 1–221, figs, pls.
16. Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) 2012. Consideration of proposals
for amendment of Appendices I and II –
Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata. CoP16 Prop.1.
17. Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) 2011. Appendices I, II and III.
18. Rossi, G. 2013. Parco d’Abruzzo. REVISIONE
STATUS di Rupicapra Pyrenaica ornata.
AbruzzoNews24.
19. Di Zenobio, E. 2013. SOS camoscio d’Abruzzo.
Paesaggi d’Abruzzo. Available from: http://
www.paesaggidabruzzo.com/it/news.
20. Sammuri, G. 2013. Il camoscio d’Abruzzo,
il downlisting Cites e Federparchi, greenreport.it.
21. Varley, E. 2013. Un virus menace l’isard,
cousin pyrénéen du chamois.
Reviewer
• Professor Marco Festa-Bianchet
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