Juan Herrero

University of Zaragoza, Huesca · Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Two new potential areas for Iberian lynx reintroduction were considered in Aragon, Spain. Human Dimension characteristics are considered apart from ecological ones. Interviews of local interest groups revealed a moderate positive view, with difference between areas and groups. An information campaign about the lynx and its coexistence with people s...

Aim of the study: To demonstrate if a population of Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra p. pyrenaica can live at low altitudes all year long. This could enlarge dramatically its potential habitat. Area of study: A hunting ground in Sobrarbe County, Pyrenees, Spain, in 2022. Material and methods. We interviewed local hunters to find out when the presence of...

Human-wildlife conflicts: consequences of the erosion of the available habitat, introduction of alien species, and anthropization.

The studied farms are small family businesses, and so, in more than half of the cases, their continuity is not guaranteed. Livestock management is typical of a mountain system, in which the animals graze throughout the year in cultivated fields, sown meadows, forests near the farms, and mountain pastures during the three summer months. The herds al...

Wild boar hunt yield, 2006-2019

The correct current name of the Iberian wild goat

El galápago de Florida o galápago americano Trachemys scripta está considerado una especie invasora muy perjudicial para la fauna nativa, con una amplia distribución en España. Desde 2009 el Gobierno de Aragón estudia la distribución de los galápagos autóctonos, el galápago europeo Emys orbicularis y el galápago leproso Mauremys leprosa y extrae de...

The skulls and mandibles of 182 wild boars from the Western Pyrenees (WP) and the Middle Ebro Valley (MEV), Aragon, Spain, were assessed for dental variability. We evaluated whether there were differences in the frequency and age and sex distribution between areas, and whether any differences might be related to their environments (acquired) or wer...

This comprehensive species-specific chapter covers all aspects of the mammalian biology, including paleontology, physiology, genetics, reproduction and development, ecology, habitat, diet, mortality, and behavior. The economic significance and management of mammals and future challenges for research and conservation are addressed as well. The chapt...

Markhor Capra falconerimonitoring in Tajikistan shows population recovery

2022. Presencia del muflón mediterráneo Ovis aries en Navarra. Naturalia Cantabricae 10(2): 21-28. RESUMEN: El muflón mediterráneo de vida libre ha hecho su aparición recientemente en Navarra (España). Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron conocer: la distribución, abundancia, parámetros demográficos y actitud y conocimiento de la población local af...

The chamois Rupicapra spp. is the most abundant mountain ungulate of Europe and the Near East, where it occurs as two species , the northern chamois R. rupicapra and the southern chamois R. pyrenaica. Here, we provide a state-of-the-art overview of research trends and the most challenging issues in chamois research and conservation, focusing on tax...

The spread of domestic or non-native genes in native wild ruminant populations is of concern for conser- vation and should be prevented with the responsive- ness that competent conservation agencies are ex- pected to guarantee

During 2017, we studied knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes towards brown bears by extensive mountain sheep farmers in the Western Pyrenees, using a structured questionnaire, specifically, whether the scarce bear presence, or the administrative region, was influential. Livestock raising practices are mainly family properties and have suffered a s...

Segunda reunión sobre el rebeco cantábrico y el sarrio pirenaico 26-27 de noviembre 2021. Benasque, Pirineo aragonés Second reunión sur l'isard cantabrique et l'isard pyrénéen 26-27 novembre 2021. Venasque, Pyrénées aragonaises

A one week summer course of introduction to mammalogy

Grouping behaviour of Iberian wild goat during the parturition period in the Iberian System

[Published in: Handbook of the Mammals of Europe – Terrestrial Cetartiodactyla (Eds. Zachos, F. and L. Corlatti). Springer Nature.] The chamois is the most abundant mountain ungulate of Europe. Although the taxonomy of the genus has been subject to continuous revisions since the beginning of the twentieth century, currently two species are recogni...

The names of southwestern European goats: is Iberian ibex the best common name for Capra pyrenaica? The common name designated to a species is important because it connects specialists with non–experts. The matter of the correct common name is relevant to the conservation and management of conspicuous or flag species. The English name 'Spanish ibex...

Wild boar is an important species throughout the Iberian Peninsula, and populations exist from sea level to elevations of >2000 m in high mountain environments, which reflects its incredible ability to adapt to a wide range of natural and cultural environments. To summarize the scientific and management knowledge on this species in Portugal and Spa...

Trophy Hunting (TH) is thought to be the reason for the reduction in length and thickness of trophies as well as body size in several Bovidae species. In deer populations, changes have occurred in allele frequencies and in number of antler tips, possibly the result of the removal of males that showed the best trophies. To evaluate whether TH select...

El objetivo del estudio fue estimar la distribución y densidad de la cabra montés en la provincial de Castellón, España. Pedimos a los agentes medioambientales del Departamento de Medio Ambiente de la Generalitat de Valencia que estimaran su distribución utilizando cuadrículas de 2,5 x 2,5 km2 e identificaran 130 puntos de observación fijos con bue...

The aim of the study was to estimate the distribution and density of Iberian wild goat Capra pyrenaica in Castellón province, Spain. We asked the rangers of the Environmental Agency of Valencia to estimate the distribution of the species within the province using a 2.5 x 2.5 km2 grid and identified 130 vantage points for fixedpoint surveys througho...

The Señorío de Bértiz Natural Park (Baztan, Navarre) is a beech forest Fagus sylvatica of 2,050 ha. It has a Management Plan which advocates for the natural evolution of the forest, without human intervention. In order to know the absolute abundance of forest ungulates, between September 2016 and September 2017 we have: (i) carried out a sampling o...

The objective of this study was to develop a nonformal environmental education program in a summer camp and to measure its effectiveness increasing environmental knowledge and attitudes of the participants. Seventy six teenagers between 14 and 17 years participated. Activities dealt with both natural and urban environment. Preactivity and postactiv...

In order to develop the Ecological Monitoring Plan (ECM) of San Juan de la Peña and Monte Oroel Protected Landscape (SJPP), during 2016 we undertook an inventory and analysis of the available information and a proposal of an ECM for this Protected Area. We inventoried 30 works carried out by SJPP. Most of them dealt with vascular flora and vertebra...

Agricultural damages caused by wild boar Sus scrofa have given farmers a negative impression of protected areas and their management. To mitigate those damages and the social conflicts that they create, hunting battues involving experienced local hunters were used as a lethal population control method in a protected Iberian wetland. In the Ebro Sot...

Comments regarding Marco et al., 2015, ‘The two sides of border disease in Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica): silent persistence and population collapse’ - Volume 17 Issue 2 - María Cruz Arnal, Juan Herrero, Olatz Fernández, David Martínez, Carlos Prada, Alicia García-Serrano, Daniel Fernández de Luco

Pine Marten is listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, large population, occurrence in a number of protected areas, tolerance to some degree of habitat modification, and because it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing even as Near Threatened. Indeed, the population is stable to increasing,...

Habitat use by wild boar Sus scrofa was examined during a three-year period in Moncayo Nature Park, a protected mountain area in the Iberian mountain system, Spain. Tracking indirect signs of activity was used to collect data on the species occurrence, according to vegetation type, topography, hunting activity, and season. The data were analysed us...

European Roe Deer, Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) IUCN Assessment Capreolus capreolus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T42395A22161386.

Wild boar management in Italy

Aim of study: To manage and conserve wild populations effectively, a good understating of population density is critical. During 2010, the density of Iberian wild goat Capra pyrenaica and mouflon Ovis aries were estimated. Area of study: The area is situated in Muela de Cortes Game Reservation (Spain), a Mediterranean forest plateau, after a mange...

Iberian wild goat Capra pyrenaica has been re-introduced in the Cantabrian Mountains in Leon province (Riaño and Ancares). To evaluate habitat and restocking suitability in the National Game Reserve of Os Ancares (NGRA, Lugo province) we: (i) undertook a reconstruction of its natural history in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula; (ii) gathered data on...

To update the information on the distributions of wild ungulates in Aragon, Spain, populations were surveyed based on questionnaires sent to rangers of the Government of Aragon. The data were analyzed in two five-year periods: 2001-2005 and 2006-2010. Our analysis was based on the 242 and 278 questionnaires, corresponding approximately with 80-90%...

To update the information on the distributions of wild ungulates in Aragon, Spain, populations were surveyed based on questionnaires sent to rangers of the Government of Aragon. The data were analyzed in two five-year periods: 2001-2005 and 2006-2010. Our analysis was based on the 242 and 278 questionnaires, corresponding approximately with 80-90%...

Aim of study: Monitoring trends in animal populations is essential for the development of appropriate wildlife management strategies. Area of study: The area is situated in the southern Pyrenees (Aragon), Spain. Material and methods: To measure the abundance, population trends, sex ratio, and mortality of roe deer populations, we analyzed data from...

In January 2000, the last Pyrenean wild goat, Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica, died in Ordesa National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees. Since that time, there has been an intense debate over the possibility of using individuals from other extant subspecies to restore the Iberian wild goat C. pyrenaica in the Pyrenees. In the late 1990s, some Iberian wild go...

To estimate the number and density of feral goats Capra hircus in Guara Nature Park (Pyrenees, Spain), 27 observation points were established throughout a 440 km2 portion of the park occupied by goats. In April and May 2009, goats were counted daily during 3-h observation periods that began at dawn. The counts documented 282 goats in 39 groups. The...

Between 2006 and 2008, an outbreak of Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) affected Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra p. pyrenaica, an endemic subspecies of mountain ungulate that lives in the Pyrenees. The study focused on 14 mountain massifs (180,000 ha) where the species' population is stable. Cases of IKC were detected in ten of the massifs and, in f...

In Spain, Game Reserves (GR) are territorial public hunting management units that cover 3.5% of the country and similar to 10% of the Natura 2000 Network. The first GR were established in 1966 and by 2011 there were 49. Their primary purposes were to promote wild ungulate populations, their sustainable use, and to provide social, economic, and recr...

1. The introduction of non-native species can pose environmental and economic risks, but under some conditions, introductions can serve conservation or recre- ational objectives. To minimize risks, introductions should be conducted following the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s guidelines and should include an initial assessment and...

The remarkable increase of wild ungulates populations in Aragon during the last 50 years, both in numbers and distribution, has made population monitoring a need for effective management of these species. In parallel to their raising numbers, problems related to crop damage and collisions with vehicles are growing. In this situation there has been...

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This study compared the efficacies of total block counts (BC) and distance sampling (DS) procedures to estimate the abundance of chamois populations in two mountain massifs, Posets and Maladeta, Spain. In 2002, 2006, 2007, and 2008, chamois populations were surveyed along itineraries above the timberline, twice per year: in July, after the parturit...

Although brown bears (Ursus arctos) are known to be major predators of ungulates in North America and Northern Europe, there is little documentation regarding bear predation on wild ungulates in Southern Europe. We describe search, detection, killing and prey consumption behaviour by brown bears during seven attacks on <1-month roe deer, red deer a...

The general human population trend in Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park (OMPNP) during the second half of the XX century has been its migration from the villages to the big nearest industrialized cities. Consequently, livestock pressure declined, leading to the invasion of woody species into the grasslands. Nevertheless, if grasslands have not...

Our research into the Cantabrian brown bear (Ursus arctos) has focused on females with cubs. Monitoring over the last twenty five years has provided data on demographic and spatial trends that are essential to conservation strategies and has also involved surveillance and protection. Between 1988 and mid-2010 we observed 141 groups of females with...

Monitoraggio a lungo termine del camoscio dei Pirenei in una zona protetta: fluttuazione della popolazione. Tra il 1993 ed il 2009, la popolazione di camoscio pirenaico Rupicapra p. pyrenaica del Parco Nazionale d’Aigüestortes e Estany de Sant Maurici (14119 ha, Catalogna, Spagna) è stata monitorata periodicamente. Nel periodo post-riproduttivo (lu...

Two political jurisdictions in northern Spain, Navarre, where the Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica is categorized as Vulnerable, and Aragon, where it is huntable, coordinated management for the recovery of this subspecies at the western limit of its range. After an estimate of only a small population in 1992–1993 hunting was banned in...

Evidence of non-hibernation in brown bears Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758 on the Iberian Peninsula has existed since the Middle Ages. We systematically monitored brown bears in the Cantabrian Mountains (Northern Spain) by recording tracks and sightings from 1998 to 2007 to document hibernation behaviour. Our results indicate that females with yearling...

We reply to the critique from Fernández-Gil et al. (2010) regarding our study on trends in female brown bears with cubs (F CUB ) in the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain (Palomero et al. 2007). We discuss the relationship between sampling effort and the number of F CUB , the methods used to collect the data, and the relationship between the and the whole...

The main objectives of this study were to investigate sheep foraging behaviour in mixed Atlantic woodland and to assess its impact on the forest understorey. We established 89 plots along four forest types: Fagus woodland, Quercus woodland, riparian gallery forest and conifer plantations. The presence of plant species in the forest understorey and...

strong>Abstract This study quantified the diet of the genet Genetta genetta in an Iberian continental wetland, the Galachos Nature Reserve, northern Spain, based on the frequency with which items appeared in five monthly-surveyed latrines during 2004-2005. Prey types were identified de visu using identification keys and expert advice. the genet wa...