130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Scale Status Population trend Justification Threats
Global
Least Concern Increasing Very widespread
No major threats
[11]
Extremely abundant
Expanding in some areas
Tolerant of secondary habitat
Europe
Least Concern Increasing Very widespread
No major threats
[17]
Extremely abundant
Expanding in some areas
Tolerant of secondary habitat
Europe –
regional
populations
Vulnerable:
Carpathians
N/A N/A N/A
[18]
were in Scandinavia and Russia [7] , but the species
also survived in Białowieża Forest in Poland and
Belarus [9] . Following initial recovery in Poland [10] ,
Eurasian elk populations are reportedly making
a comeback [11] and now occur in the majority
of their former distribution [7] . For example, its
range is extending southwards into the Caucasus
lowlands [11] and the northern boundary is thought
to be shifting to higher latitudes [8] . The subspecies
A. a. alces now occurs throughout Norway, Sweden,
Finland, Russia, the Baltic states, Belarus, Poland
and northern Ukraine [2] , but has been extirpated
from the southern part of its range in Austria
although infrequent sightings still occur [11] . Three
isolated populations remain in the southern Czech
Republic, with occasional occurrences in Germany,
Croatia, Hungary and Romania [11] .
Habitat preferences and general densities
The species inhabits boreal and mixed forests in
the northern temperate zone, especially those
that comprise damp, marshy areas [2] . The limiting
factors are snow depth of more than 70 cm and a
mean temperature of more than 14°C in summer [2] .
There are differences in habitat choice between
genders, with females preferring habitats with
good cover, while males select areas providing
abundant food [2] . Because the elk is largely
solitary [2] , densities tend to be low, ranging from
0.7 to 1.2 individuals per km 2 depending on the
method used [12] .
Legal protection and conservation status
The Eurasian elk is included on Appendix III of
the Bern Convention [13] and legally protected in
the Czech Republic [14] and Slovakia [15] . The species
occurs in a large number of protected areas and
is not affected by any major threat processes
at the species level [11] . Hunting seasons and the
use of specific hunting gear are legislated in
most European countries [16] . Both the global and
European IUCN Red Lists list the Eurasian elk as
Least Concern due to an increasing population
trend, a widespread and expanding distribution,
high abundance and high tolerance of altered
habitat (Table 1).
Abundance and distribution:
current status
The IUCN estimates a global elk population
of 1,500,000 individuals, with the European
population accounting for around 720,000 of these
(Table 2). The largest populations occur in Russia
(39%), Sweden (28%), Norway (15%) and Finland
(13%), with smaller populations in Germany,
Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Baltic
States, Poland and Ukraine.
The largest population of Eurasian elk with an
estimated size of 278,000 individuals is found in
European Russia (Table 2.). This population was
very low at the beginning of 1900s, but increased
to 266,000 individuals by the mid-20 th century [8] .
Trends fluctuated subsequently, and the maximum
number for the entire country reached over
900,000 in 1991 [8] . With the collapse of the USSR,
economic and social changes led to a considerable
Table 1.
Summary of Global
and European Red
List assessments and
threats listed for the
Eurasian elk.
Table 2.
Latest population
estimates for
the Eurasian elk
globally, in Europe
and for European
populations. No
information was
available on elk
numbers in Belarus.
Estimate Year assessed Reference
Global 1,500,000 Unknown
[11]
Europe (excluding Belarus) 719,810 2004–7
[19–21]
% of global population 48%
Austria 10 2004/5
[19]
Czech Republic 30 2004/5
[19]
Estonia 11,900 2004/5
[19]
Finland 93,000 2004/5
[19]
Germany 50 2004/5
[19]
Latvia 14,500 2004/5
[19]
Lithuania 3,900 2004/5
[19]
Norway 110,000 2004/5
[19]
Poland 3,900 2004/5
[19]
Slovakia 10 2004/5
[19]
Sweden 200,000 2004/5
[19]
Belarus No data - -
Russia (European) 278,000 2007
[20]
Ukraine 4,510 2005
[21]
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