wild cat (Puma) endangered in Europe. Humans are responsible for 83% of deaths in specimens of this species recorded each year, according to the results of an international study that evaluated factors affecting their survival and provided important data for reducing abuse on the roads. The main cause of death for wild cats.
European populations of this cat, protected by the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive of the European Union, habitat fragmentation, low prey availability, hybridization with the domestic cat, and above all, direct death from humans.
However, little is known about the factors that increase, stabilize, or decrease when different subpopulations of the species are faced with these threats.
A consortium of 34 researchers from 31 institutions from 10 European countries of the European Network “wild catViewed for the first time, including Spain European wildcat survival and causes of death from monitoring of 211 people by radio transmitters in 22 different study areas across the continent.
Scientists, including several Spaniards, also confirmed it. The effect of variables related to human disturbances and environmental transformations on survival probability.
The results of this research study show that Wildcat mortality in Europe is mainly caused by human factors, with road deaths and poaching accounting for 57% and 22% of annual deaths., respectively. The annual probability of survival has been estimated at 92% for women and 84% for men.
Most deaths are on the main roads
Most deaths are on the main roads On the other hand, the study shows that The density of roads has a high impact on the annual survival of the species.thus, an increase in the density of major roads in a given area by one kilometer per square kilometer increases the risk of death by nine times.
On the other hand, less trafficked secondary and local roads do not significantly affect the annual mortality of lynxes.
The study provides key parameters for improving population viability analysis. It also provides relevant information for future planning to maintain sub-critical road densities in key lynx habitats.
Likewise, the report identifies the conditions under which it should be installed. fences and gate structures to reduce lynx deaths on the roads.
The research sought to provide information on the current status and population trends of lynxes, as there have been no recent large-scale studies of the status of the species or regional studies in Europe in recent years.
Weighing between 4 and 12 pounds and up to 125 centimeters in length, this medium-sized carnivore is distributed in fragmented populations from southern Italy to Scotland and from Portugal to Romania.
European populations of the species have been divided into five major genetic groups representing different biogeographic units. The species is “strictly protected” by European legislation.. The lynx is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list.
Species in danger of extinction in Spain
In Spain, the wildcat is also in danger of extinction.. The main reason for the decline of the species in the Iberian Peninsula is the constant occupation of the habitat of the species.
This also favors the approach to domestic cats, which opens up the possibility of crossing and, accordingly, the emergence of cats. hybrid examples.
this expansion of agriculture It is also behind the significant decline in the Spanish wildcat population. This animal has been persecuted for decades by humans for fear of damaging crops and preying on pets and prey species.
A third factor influencing the decline in the number of wildcat specimens in Spain, pesticides and poisons. And not only due to direct death, but also due to the reduction of the main food sources of the species: rabbits, mice, moles and other small mammals.
Wildcats live in forested areas isolated from urban centers. Its existence extends throughout the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.. Although it is a typical wild cat of Mediterranean forests, the most suitable ecosystem for its development is Mediterranean maquis.
There are three subspecies of wildcat in Spain. first one Puma tarteIt lives south of the Ebro and Duero rivers. latter Puma, can be found in the north of the peninsula. And third, Felis lybica JordanIt is common on the island of Mallorca.
Reference report: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0006320721002913
Eurowildcat Web: https://eurowildcat.org/