Nikica Šprem

Wild boar populations up, numbers of hunters down? A review of trends and implications for Europe.

Across Europe, wild boar numbers increased in the 1960s-1970s but stabilised in the 1980s; recent evidence suggests that the numbers and impact of wild boar has grown steadily since the 1980s. As hunting is the main cause of mortality for this species, we reviewed wild boar hunting bags and hunter population trends in 18 European countries from 1982 to 2012. Hunting statistics and numbers of hunters were used as indicators of animal numbers and hunting pressure. The results confirmed that wild boar increased consistently throughout Europe, while the number of hunters remained relatively stable or declined in most countries. We conclude that recreational hunting is insufficient to limit wild boar population growth and that the relative impact of hunting on wild boar mortality had decreased. Other factors, such as mild winters, reforestation, intensification of crop production, supplementary feeding and compensatory population responses of wild boar to hunting pressure might also explain population growth. As populations continue to grow, more human-wild boar conflicts are expected unless this trend is reversed. New interdisciplinary approaches are urgently required to mitigate human-wild boar conflicts, which are otherwise destined to grow further.

Revisiting the phylogeography and demography of European badgers (Meles meles) based on broad sampling, multiple markers and simulations

Although the phylogeography of European mammals has been extensively investigated since the 1990s, many studies were limited in terms of sampling distribution, the number of molecular markers used and the analytical techniques employed, frequently leading to incomplete postglacial recolonisation scenarios. The broad-scale genetic structure of the European badger (Meles meles) is of interest as it may result from historic restriction to glacial refugia and/or recent anthropogenic impact. However, previous studies were based mostly on samples from western Europe, making it difficult to draw robust conclusions about the location of refugia, patterns of postglacial expansion and recent demography. In the present study, continent-wide sampling and analyses with multiple markers provided evidence for two glacial refugia (Iberia and southeast Europe) that contributed to the genetic variation observed in badgers in Europe today. Approximate Bayesian computation provided support for a colonisation of Scandinavia from both Iberian and southeastern refugia. In the whole of Europe, we observed a decline in genetic diversity with increasing latitude, suggesting that the reduced diversity in the peripheral populations resulted from a postglacial expansion processes. Although MSVAR v.1.3 also provided evidence for recent genetic bottlenecks in some of these peripheral populations, the simulations performed to estimate the method’s power to correctly infer the past demography of our empirical populations suggested that the timing and severity of bottlenecks could not be established with certainty. We urge caution against trying to relate demographic declines inferred using MSVAR with particular historic or climatological events.

Concentration of 137Cs and 40K in meat of omnivore and herbivore game species in mountain forest ecosystems of Gorski Kotar, Croatia

The aim of this study was to investigate 137Cs and 40K load in large mammal game species in the mountain forest region of Gorski Kotar in Croatia approximately a quarter of century after the Chernobyl accident. 137Cs and 40K activity were determined by the gamma-spectrometric method in 49 meat samples of five large game species: brown bear (Ursus arctos), wild boar (Sus scrofa), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), and chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra). The results indicated that herbivore game species (roe deer, red deer and chamois) show significantly lower 137Cs concentrations than omnivore species (brown bear, wild boar), thereby confirming the hypothesis that different dietary strategy impact caesium concentrations in meat. The measured caesium load in brown bear meat was in the range of two orders of magnitude, while caesium load in wild boar meat was found in the range of one order of magnitude. The estimated effective equivalent dose showed that uptake of the highest caesium doses would be from consumption of omnivore species meat, while much lower doses could be taken in with the consumption of meat from herbivore species.

Patterns of Game Animal Attacks on Hunters in Croatia Over a 13-Year Period

Hunter-game animal conflicts are occasionally reported from various parts of the world. This case series comprises all 7 game animal attacks on hunters reported to the Croatian Hunting Association over a period of 13 years (1999-2011), covering the entire Croatian territorial area. Seasonally, attacks occurred most frequently in the winter time, when the hunting season is at its peak. The most common attacking animal, representing 5 of 7 cases (71.4%), was the wild boar, and the majority of the attacks happened in the morning. All of our victims were male, with an average age of 51 years (range 26 to 69 years). Six victims sustained a bite wound or wounds and 1 was rammed by the animal. Almost all of our patients (5 of 7, with one unknown) recovered completely and without significant complications.

Past and present of and perspectives for the Danube huchen, Hucho hucho (L.), in the Danube basin

Abstract Huchen, Hucho hucho (L.), also known as Danube salmon, is an iconic, endemic species inhabiting the Danube basin of Central Europe. Historically, the Danube huchen inhabited a significant portion of the Danube drainage basin stretching to the Iron Gate and the majority of large and medium-sized tributaries. Larger populations in the natural zoogeographical distribution of Danube huchen were once found in Austria, Bavaria, the former Yugoslavia, Slovakia, and western Ukraine. Currently, the species is severely fragmented within the Danube drainage, where most populations exclusively depend on stocking and natural reproduction is very limited due to habitat alterations and flow regime changes. In the Czech Republic and Poland, Danube huchen occurrence is the result of introducing the species to several rivers in the Baltic Sea and North Sea drainage basins. Danube huchen is a threatened species throughout is range of occurrence, and, according to IUCN criteria, it is classified as endangered (EN). Habitat degradation is the most serious negative factor impacting huchen populations. Dam construction, pollution, and river regulation have led to loss and degradation of spawning sites. Detailed research on population abundance and structure is greatly needed to help identify the populations which are most threatened and to help to develop the best protection systems.

The game damages on agricultural crops in Croatia

Conflicts between wildlife and humans have been reported from all over the world, but in Croatia the extent and intensity of the conflict is increasing. Agricultural damage by game is a major concern for both agricultural and wildlife agencies at the national level. In this study 4,695 cases of game damage over a 4-year period were analysed. Results indicated that the total amount of economic impact on agriculture from game damage was significant. The distribution of payments shows that a majority of payments have lower economic value with an average amount of single payment being 477.08 €. The annual number of payments was found to have a negative correlation coefficient (-0.469) to the total payment amount for damages. According to the number of payments (68% of the number of payments) and the payment amount (60% of total payment amount), the crop most often damaged was maize. Analysis of the data found that there was a negative growth trend of payment frequency and total payment amount for grape vineyards. The correlation between yearly number of payments and yearly production was not calculated for any crop. The high seasonal nature of payments was a determent of seasonal regression using a dummy variable regression (r2=0.93). A comparison of the monthly number of payments and monthly amounts is depicted by a time series using a seasonal line. The impact of wild boar damage on agriculture crops, in total, leads to the conclusion that this game species is a major problem. The results showed a specific subset of game damage in Croatia and, as such, it can be extrapolated to provide insight into the damage caused by wild boar in other countries.

Dietary items as possible sources of 137Cs in large carnivores in the Gorski Kotar forest ecosystem, Western Croatia

The mountain forest ecosystem of Gorski Kotar is distant from any significant sources of environmental pollution, though recent findings have revealed that this region is among the most intense (137)Cs contaminated area in Croatia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate (137)Cs and (40)K load in three large predator species in the mountain forest ecosystem. Radionuclides mass activities were determined by the gamma-spectrometric method in the muscle tissue of brown bear (47), wolf (7), lynx (1) and golden jackal (2). The highest (137)Cs mass activity was found in lynx (153 Bq kg(-1)), followed by brown bear (132 Bq kg(-1)), wolf (22.2 Bq kg(-1)), and golden jackal (2.48 Bq kg(-1)). Analysis of 63 samples of dietary items suggests that they are not all potentially dominant sources of (137)Cs for wildlife. The most important source of radionuclides for the higher parts of the food-chain from the study area were found to be the mushroom species wood hedgehog (Hydnum repandum), with a transfer factor TF of 5.166, and blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) as a plant species (TF=2.096). Food items of animal origin indicated higher mass activity of radionuclides and therefore are possible moderate bioindicators of environmental pollution. The results also revealed that possible unknown wild animal food sources are a caesium source in the study region, and further study is required to illuminate this issue.

Fatal Injury Caused by a Ram (Ovis Aries) Attack.

Animal‐inflicted injuries to humans are a major public health problem around the world resulting in great morbidity, money loss, and mortality. They are related to wild and domestic animals alike. Animals can cause injuries by various mechanisms—biting, stinging, crushing, goring, stomping, butting, kicking, pecking, etc. We present a case of a rams attack with fatal consequences. A 4‐year‐old, 120 kg jezersko‐solčava breed ram with prior history of aggressive behavior inflicted multiple injuries to his 83‐year‐old owner, who died in the hospital a few hours later due to severe blunt force injuries sustained in the attack. The autopsy revealed the cause of death to be multiple injuries of the thorax and the head. Sheep, even though they are not considered aggressive or large farm animals such as cattle and horses, can inflict serious injuries with devastating results.

Variation of wild boar reproductive performance in different habitat types : implications for management

The aim of this study was analyze reproductive performance of wild boar in different habitat over a 7-year period (2006–2012). A total of 468 pregnant females and 2.819 fetuses were analyzed, the mean number of fetuses was 6.02 (median = 6) per animal (4.62 per juvenile, 6.39 per yearling and 6.77 per adult). In litters, male-biased fetuses occurred significantly more often than female, the overall fetal sex ratio is 1: 0.86. Positive reproductive traits increased up to 90 kg of live body weight and then decreased. The reproductive parameters observed in our study reflect a relatively high reproductive capacity compared to the populations in southern and northern Europe, but are comparable with some populations in central Europe. Concerning habitat conditions, it is obvious that they influence the reproductive performance of females, and therefore must be included in management plans.

Are the dinaric mountains a boundary between continental and mediterranean wild boar populations in Croatia

Wild boar is the most important large game species in Croatia, with populations subjected to hunting/management programs. There are indications from previous analyses of morphological variation and reproductive performance that population structure of wild boar in Croatia is strongly influenced by the Dinaric mountain range that separates Croatia in two biogeographic regions: Continental and Mediterranean. Of the two main wild boar haplogroups found in Europe, the most widespread is the E1 clade (present from Portugal to Russia), while the E2 clade is found within the Italian peninsula and on Sardinia. Outside Italy, the E2 clade has to date been found only in archaeological samples from the Mediterranean region of Croatia. The aims of this study were to investigate the hypotheses that (i) the Dinaric Mountains act as a natural boundary separating the Continental and Mediterranean wild boar subpopulations in Croatia; and (ii) the mtDNA E2 clade is present in Croatian wild boar. A total of 14 unlinked microsatellite loci were examined in 264 geo-referenced individuals, and the 486-bp fragment of the mtDNA control region sequence was examined in 69 individuals. The results suggest that the region of the Dinaric Mountains. represents a weak boundary between the Continental and Mediterranean subpopulations, and that the predominant factor causing the observed genetic structuring is isolation by distance. Based on these results, it can be proposed that the Croatian wild boar population in the mainland should be managed as a whole. Three variable sites and four haplotypes were obtained from the mtDNA sequences, all of which belonged to the major European clade (E1).