Crop damage by wildlife is a frequent source of human–wildlife conflict. Understanding which factors increase the risk of damage is crucial to the development of effective management strategies. The aims of this study were to provide a general description of agricultural damage caused by wild boar Sus scrofa meridionalis over a 7-year period in North-eastern Sardinia (Mediterranean Italy), and to formulate a predictive model of damage risk. We recorded a total of 221 cases of wild boar damage, with economic losses amounting to 483,982 Euros. Damage events mostly involved vineyards, meadows and oat fields, and were characterized by a peak incidence in summer and early autumn, and a minimum in spring. Damaged fields were characterized by an increasing presence of permanent crops, a decreasing presence of woodlands, maquis and urban areas, and a reduced distance from shelter areas (forests and shrublands). The analysis of spatiotemporal variation of boar-induced damage and the identification of factors that augment the risk of damage provides essential information for contributing to the development of a more effective plan for managing wild boar populations.

Summary Although the population of Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is significantly increasing in Europe, in Italy the species is still on the Red List as ‘Critically Endangered’, with the last natural population persisting on the island of Sardinia. Several episodes of poisoning hampered the success of conservation actions implemented in the years 1987–1995. In 2005 there were estimated to be only 31–32 territorial pairs, with the population occupying the territories of Alghero and Bosa. We used a long-term dataset of reproductive records from the Sardinian Griffon Vulture populations to run a population viability analysis (PVA) to evaluate the extinction risk using the Vortex simulation software. The model estimated the probability of extinction over the next five generations (estimated generation time: 11 years, simulation time used: 55 years) as 96.4% for the Alghero population, and near-zero for the Bosa population. We used sensitivity analyses to understand how uncertainty about parameter values affect model outcomes. Population projections were evaluated under different management scenarios tackling the main threats (poisoning and human disturbance) and implementing conservation actions (supplementary feeding and restocking). Our results showed that population size is a critical factor in affecting the projections of population dynamics of Griffon Vultures. Sensitivity analyses highlighted the importance of poisoning events to population persistence and showed that juvenile and adult mortality rates had a secondary impact on population viability. The only conservation measure effective in significantly increasing stochastic growth rates in the Alghero population, whose initial population was set at five individuals, was the complete removal of poisoning events. When targeting the Bosa population (initial population size 94 individuals), supplementary feeding, mitigation of the risk of poisoning episodes, restocking, and mitigation of human disturbance in the reproductive sites significantly increased stochastic growth rate. A cost-effectiveness analysis should be performed to prioritise interventions.

In the 19th century, Red kite (Milvus milvus) was very common and widespread in Sardinia, but in the mid-900 an important decline occurred. Since the 1970s the species has been studied more continuously, but in recent years the published data seem contradictory. In 2018-2020, authors carried out specific research to collect data on the population of the Red kite in Sardinia exploring both the historical range of the species and areas where the species was reported in the past. In 2018-2020, we estimated 10-13 breeding pairs in an area of about 3,440 km2 located in the north west of Sardinia. As regard wintering, we estimated 30-40 birds in winters 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, whereas 90-110 birds were counted in winter 2020-2021.

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In 2020, a pair of ospreys nested in the north western coast of Sardinia and the successful fledging of two chicks is the first record in the island since 1968. The last reported breeding occurred in the eastern coast of the island and after that the species was considered extinct. Ospreys regularly migrate, estivate and winter in Sardinia, with a wintering population of about 40 individuals in 2018. This new breeding episode is not resulting from reintroduction projects and may be related to the dynamics of the close population of Corsica and to the exceptional absence of human disturbance along the coast due to COVID 19 lock-down.