What Do We Know About Wild Boar in Iberia?

Forest resilience to global warming is strongly modulated by local‐scale topographic, microclimatic and biotic conditions

“…Wild boar and roe deer are the main ungulate species inhabiting the studied area (Rosell et al., 2019; Torres et al., 2016). Controlling roe deer and wild boar populations is a major concern and challenging task in the NE Iberian Peninsula (Giménez‐Anaya et al., 2020), and increasing hunting pressure in protected areas often fails to effectively regulate population size (Figure ). Similarly, in the rest of Europe, wild boar populations have grown at rates not matched by human hunting pressure (González‐Crespo et al., 2018; Massei et al., 2015).…”

“…Terminal twig damage (TTD) in tree saplings has been previously applied as a reliable indicator of herbivore activity in roe deer populations (Partl et al., 2002). In the case of wild boar populations in the study area, acorns and the underground parts of plants (roots, bulbs and rhizomes) constitute an important fraction of the diet (Giménez‐Anaya et al., 2020). In this regard, indicators of rooting activity (RD) in the soil provide a good proxy of the spatial variability of damage by wild boar populations (Bueno et al., 2009, Table ).…”

“…Studies in multiple land ecosystems indicate that the defaunation of top predators can facilitate an overabundance of large herbivorous mammals and drastically change forest dynamics (Estes et al., 2011; Gómez & Hódar, 2008; McLaren & Peterson, 1994; Nogués‐Bravo et al., 2016; Ripple & Beschta, 2007; Roemer et al, 2009; Smit et al., 2015). For example, in the eastern Iberian Peninsula the historical defaunation of apex predators (wolves) has facilitated over the last decades the expansion of consumers of tree saplings and tree roots such as the Roe deer Capreolus capreolus and the wild boar Sus scrofa (Giménez‐Anaya et al., 2020), increasing pressure on tree saplings at the regional scale. Tree sapling recruitment is a key process determining demographic resilience in rear edge areas of Mediterranean forests (Carnicer et al., 2014; Granda et al., 2014).…”

“…This process could be largely impaired by increased herbivory in areas affected by long‐term processes of defaunation of top predators and reduced human hunting pressure on large mammal herbivores (Côté et al., 2004; Mayer et al., 2000; Partl et al., 2002). In Mediterranean rear edge areas large population expansions of wild boar and roe deer are currently co‐occurring, potentially affecting key rear edge areas (Barrios‐Garcia & Ballari, 2012; Giménez‐Anaya et al., 2020; Massei & Genov, 2004; Saez‐Royuela & Telleria, 1986). Management efforts to control increasing populations of wild boar and roe deer often obtain limited results, due to multiple logistic limitations and social barriers impeding an optimal human hunting pressure (Giménez‐Anaya et al., 2020; González‐Crespo et al., 2018; Massei et al., 2015; Vicente et al., 2019).…”

Instagranimal: Animal Welfare and Animal Ethics Challenges of Animal-Based Tourism

“…Technology can powerfully mediate distance and interactions with animals, changing the way we see and think about animals [ 62 ]. It can bring us into heretofore unmatched proximity; new techniques such as drone-based thermal images and camera trapping invite us squarely into the everyday lives of wild animals in dens and burrows [ 63 ]. No doubt, the success of BBC’s Planet Earth series owes much to the advances in technology that enable us to learn more and get closer and into areas or animal behavior previously hidden from view.…”