Free-ranging domestic cats reduce the effective protected area of a Polish national park

Poland's Animal Protection Act, as of 2002, made it legal to shoot free-ranging cats and dogs. The act triggered substantial social debate with opponents arguing that this legislation was weakly supported by scientific evidence of the ecological impacts of free-ranging pets. Our main research goal was to examine the activity of free-ranging domestic cats within a Polish protected area by applying radio-telemetry methods to determine space use and degree of encroachment into the national park. We trapped and radio-tracked 19 animals from three sites (focal households) located in Ojcow National Park (ONP) in southern Poland from June 2003 to March 2006. Annual 100% MCP home range size varied from 0.02 km2 to 1.46 km2, and was significantly larger for males (mean ± SE = 0.79 ± 0.34 km2; median = 0.53 km2) than for females (mean ± SE = 0.13 ± 0.05 km2; median = 0.13 km2). The distance travelled by individual cats from focal sites did not significantly differ between males (mean ± SE = 232.00 ± 21.05 m; median = 191 m) and females (mean ± SE = 232.50 ± 12.47 m; median = 228 m), with maximum distances of 1.5 km for males and 1.1 km for females. All monitored cats were in close proximity to nature reserves and ranged into protected areas without any human control. Cats living in the households in the park and its surrounding buffer zone, roaming at 200 m and 1000 m radius distances from their households, occupied from 6% to 100% of the park area, respectively. Our results reveal that free-ranging domestic cats roam through and potentially impact the entire national park, thus reducing its effective protected area

Protection by culling: the crux of red deer management in National Parks. eco.mont (Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research)|eco.mont Vol. 11 No.2|

Managing large ungulates in the territory of national parks requires comprehensive knowledge of many factors (population parameters, the distribution of animals and the number of their habitats, their feeding grounds, the intensity and direction of their migration), and skill in responding to the effects of negative chance events. A large number of the factors are by nature stochastic; thus, from a programming perspective, the issue of managing ungulate populations is difficult to formulate as an algorithm. This paper presents a model built using artificial neural networks (ANN). The results obtained with this model show that it is possible to maintain the population in a park without the necessity for culling within its boundaries. The study also demonstrated that culling specifically of hinds in these areas should be increased. The research presents alternative culling strategies for red deer populations in protected areas

Predation on livestock as an indicator of drastic prey decline? The indirect effects of an African swine fever epidemic on predator–prey relations in Poland

ABSTRACT The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is one of the most conflictual mammals in Europe. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) are an essential part of gray wolf diet in central Europe, but after the emergence of African swine fever (ASF) in Europe, a sharp decline of the wild boar occurred. We examined how the wild boar population decline, due to African swine fever outbreak and mitigation efforts, affected the number of livestock killed by wolves in Poland using long-term data on wild ungulate and livestock population sizes and wolf-induced mortality between 2013 and 2019. We examined the influence of multiple factors on livestock kill rate, and the influence of wild boar population declines on the number of Cervidae killed by wolves using linear mixed models. We also explored the possibility of predicting a dramatic decrease in the wild boar population based on livestock depredation patterns. The number of livestock killed by wolves decreased with wild boar and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population size, and increased with red deer (Cervus elaphus) population size. A decline in the wild boar population was significantly correlated with an increase in the number of both red and roe deer killed by wolves. A drastic decline of wild boar population (over 30%) could be predicted by the numbers of livestock killed by wolves. Our study confirms that large changes in the number of naturl prey can increase livestock depredation, although these changes may be difficult to detect when the fluctuations in the numbers of natural prey are smaller. In our opinion, this indicates that the assessment of factors influencing livestock depredation should consider historical changes in prey dynamics. We suggest managers and conservationists use the predator population as a ’first alert system’ for indirect monitoring of prey species. In this system, a sudden increase in wolf attacks on livestock across a large area of should trigger an alarm and prompt verification of the numb African swine fever ASF Epidemic Gray wolf (Canis lupus) Wild boar (Sus scrofa) Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) Red deer (Cervus elaphus) Livestock er of natural prey in the environment

Predation on livestock as an indicator of drastic prey decline? The indirect effects of an African swine fever epidemic on predator–prey relations in Poland

ABSTRACT The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is one of the most conflictual mammals in Europe. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) are an essential part of gray wolf diet in central Europe, but after the emergence of African swine fever (ASF) in Europe, a sharp decline of the wild boar occurred. We examined how the wild boar population decline, due to African swine fever outbreak and mitigation efforts, affected the number of livestock killed by wolves in Poland using long-term data on wild ungulate and livestock population sizes and wolf-induced mortality between 2013 and 2019. We examined the influence of multiple factors on livestock kill rate, and the influence of wild boar population declines on the number of Cervidae killed by wolves using linear mixed models. We also explored the possibility of predicting a dramatic decrease in the wild boar population based on livestock depredation patterns. The number of livestock killed by wolves decreased with wild boar and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population size, and increased with red deer (Cervus elaphus) population size. A decline in the wild boar population was significantly correlated with an increase in the number of both red and roe deer killed by wolves. A drastic decline of wild boar population (over 30%) could be predicted by the numbers of livestock killed by wolves. Our study confirms that large changes in the number of naturl prey can increase livestock depredation, although these changes may be difficult to detect when the fluctuations in the numbers of natural prey are smaller. In our opinion, this indicates that the assessment of factors influencing livestock depredation should consider historical changes in prey dynamics. We suggest managers and conservationists use the predator population as a ’first alert system’ for indirect monitoring of prey species. In this system, a sudden increase in wolf attacks on livestock across a large area of should trigger an alarm and prompt verification of the numb African swine fever ASF Epidemic Gray wolf (Canis lupus) Wild boar (Sus scrofa) Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) Red deer (Cervus elaphus) Livestock er of natural prey in the environment.publishedVersio