130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Estimate Year assessed Reference
Global No data -
-
Europe 2,443,035 2002–2010
[9]
% of global population No data
Austria 140,000–190,000 2005
[40]
Belgium (Wallonia) 10,000 2006
[41]
Belarus 4,890 2003
[1]
Bosnia and Herzegovina No data - -
Bulgaria 16,264 2002
[1]
Croatia 9,600 2002
[23]
Czech Republic 25,000 2004
[14]
Denmark 12,000–14,000 2002
[42]
Estonia 1,550 2005
[15]
France 35,000–45,000 2000
[11]
Germany 150,000–180,000 2006
[43]
Greece 130 2001
[1]
Hungary 74,130 2005
[44]
Ireland 3,000–4,000 2010
[45]
Italy 62,913 2005
[20]
Latvia 28,400 2005
[15]
Lithuania 12,600 2005
[15]
Luxembourg 3,192 2003
[1]
Macedonia 300 2002
[1]
Moldova 429 2003
[1]
Montenegro No data - -
Netherlands 2,735 2010
[46]
Norway 130,000 2004
[12]
Poland 141,000 2005
[22]
Portugal 15,000–20,000 2010
[19]
Romania 36,100 2006
[47]
Russia (European) 17,630 2006
[1]
Serbia 5,000 2007
[48]
Slovakia 38,000 2004
[48]
Slovenia 10,000–14,000 2010
[17]
Spain >800,000 2010
[49]
Sweden >10,000 2010
[13]
Switzerland 25,647 2004
[16]
Ukraine 14,431 2006
[1]
United Kingdom ~400,000 2007
[50]
Table 2.
Latest population
estimates for the
Red deer globally,
in Europe and
for European
populations.
libria in the sex ratio and, ultimately, changes in
the genetic structure through selective culling
(male-biased hunting or culling of undesirable
phenotypes) [34–36] . Growing habitat fragmentation
caused by urban expansion and agricultural intensification
also represents a problem in parts of the
species’ European range at present [7] .
Abundance and distribution:
current status
While no data are available for global population
size, the IUCN estimates a total of almost 2.5 million
individuals in Europe, with the majority of these
occurring in Spain (32%), the UK (16%), Germany,
Austria and Poland (6% each) and Norway (5%).
At present, the Red deer is widely distributed
throughout most of the European continent, with
the exception of northern Scandinavia, Finland
and Iceland [2] . However, its range is likely to be
patchier than indicated on available maps [1] . For
example, in Germany, the species is restricted to
specific areas and rarely occurs outside of these [43] .
Additionally, there is increasing fragmentation
of populations in central Europe [1] . Traditionally
considered a woodland species, Red deer has
expanded into a variety of habitats, including open
moorland in the UK [45] , with densities varying with
habitat quality [51] .
Based on population numbers, Red deer is the
third most common ungulate in Europe, with
particularly high numbers in Spain and the UK [9]
(Table 2). However, in some parts of Europe, the
species has not yet recovered from past population
declines. For example, it is listed as Endangered in
the Red Data Book of Threatened Vertebrates of
Greece [38] , Vulnerable in Serbia [39] and Sweden [52] ,
and the subspecies corsicanus is considered Endangered
on the French National Red List [53] . The
species is thought to be Extinct in Albania [26] , and
estimated at only a few hundred individuals in
Macedonia [1] .
Abundance and distribution: changes
According to available range information, the
Red deer has expanded its area of occurrence
by 190% since 1955 , spreading into surrounding
areas from refugia and now occupying nearly half
of its historical range in the 1800s (Figure 1a). For
example, the British Isles have seen range increases
of between 0.3% (United Kingdom [10] ) and 7% per
year (Ireland [54] ). However, the expansion depicted
for the UK in Figure 1b is likely an exaggeration [55]
resulting from differences in the resolution of the
two maps. Similarly, the range depicted for the
1950s in Spain is larger than the actual distribution
at this point in time, as the species was reduced
to small patches in Extremadura, Sierra Morena
and Montes de Toledo [31] . The majority of extant
populations in the north of Spain, Portugal and
some southernmost ranges have resulted from
translocations from these remaining stocks [31] . In
addition, current range may be overestimated in
some countries, for example in Germany, where
the species is legally confined to Red deer areas
(“Rotwildgebiete”), outside of which individuals
are generally shot [43] . Despite the overall positive
developments, there has also been some
contraction at a sub-regional level or national level,
most notably in the already threatened population
in Greece (Figure 1a).
The expansion in range is also reflected in the
change in population size over a similar period.
Overall, the species has experienced an increase
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