The impact of the reappearing wolves on the non-native chamois population in the Lusatian Mountains
My dissertation revolves around a small population of chamois (Rupicapra r. rupicapra) located in the northern part of the Czech Republic. I’ll briefly introduce it and reveal a bit from a paper we are working on.
The population itself
Chamois are not native to the Czech Republic. There have been many attempts at its introduction but the first successful one was carried out in the area of today’s Czech Switzerland National Park in 1907. The chamois introduced here came from Austrian Alps (Tůma 2007). In the following years, the population was strengthened several times but didn’t do so well. In response new attempt at chamois introduction was conducted just a few kilometres away in the Lusatian mountains. Here the chamois thrived. Both of these introduced groups were kept in game reserves but in 1918 were released (Lochman, Hromas & Kotrlý 1979; Mlčoušek 2000). For a while, chamois could have been found all around but settled down and formed a wild population that we can nowadays find in the aforementioned mountains, National Park and the Protected landscape area Labské pískovce. The map below shows all hunting districts in the northern Czech Republic where we can find chamois today. For quite a few years now we can see that this population is slowly decreasing in numbers (Kasič 2020). At the year of writing the population sits at a little over 100 individuals. This could be attributed to several factors but non are proven.
Predation pressure
Since its introduction, this population hasn’t had to face any large predators. That changed with the recolonization of central Europe by the wolf (Canis Lupus). The wolf has been eradicated in this area around the year 1759 (Hentschelová 2013) and reappeared in the Šluknov ridge in the 2011/2012 winter season (DBB-Wolf 2023). Its permanent occurrence in areas with chamois was recorded in 2017 (Vorel & Junková, 2020).
Between 2017 and 2019, the chamois population dropped by almost 30% and we found a strong correlation between the rising number of wolves and the declining numbers of chamois (Kasič 2020). We expected that it will get eradicated. That didn’t happen and the population seems to stabilize. It is important to note that the drastic decline in the chamois population might have been affected by other elements but none were proven.
Many factors could influence the outcome of this situation such as prey preference, and the fact that the chamois population is small in comparison to the other ungulate populations in the area. Big role could also play the previously mentioned fact that chamois are non-native to the area. In cooperation with the scientists from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, we are keeping an eye on both populations and their behaviour to see what will come from it. We are also working on a manuscript regarding this topic so look out for that.
Other focuses
As I said at the start of this article my main interest is the chamois and not only the situation regarding the reappearing wolf. I also study the influence of human disturbance on this population on which I wrote my masters thesis (Kasič 2022) and will look more into it during my time as a PhD student. I will also focus on the interspecific interactions of chamois and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in the same area. If anything from this article or from what I mentioned here would interest you feel free to contact me.
References
Documentation and Federal Advisory Council on topic wolf (DBB), 2023 [online]. [cit. 14.04 2023]. Available at: https://www.dbb-wolf.de/wolf-occurrence/confirmed-territories/map-of-territories
Kasič, V. Ekologie a etologie kamzíka horského (Rupicapra rupicapra) a dynamika uměle vysazené populace v Lužických horách. Ústí nad Labem, 2020. Bakalářská práce. Univerzita Jana Evangelisty Purkyně.
Kasič, V. Kamzík horský (Rupicapra rupicapra) v Lužických horách: pozorování chování a vlivu turismu. Ústí nad Labem, 2022. Diplomová práce. Univerzita Jana Evangelisty Purkyně.
Lochman, J., Hromas, J. a Kotrlý, A. Dutorohá zvěř. Praha: Státní zemědělské nakladatelství, 1979. Lesnická knihovna (Státní zemědělské nakladatelství).
Mlčoušek, J., Kamzíci v Jeseníkách za úsvitu i za soumraku. Albrechtice: Myslivost Stráž myslivosti, 2000.
Tůma, L. Vývoj stavů a lovu kamzíků na okrese Děčín. In: Sborník referátů k semináři 100let kamzíka na Českokamenicku a veterinární problematika spárkaté zvěře: 31. 5. — 1. 6.2007. Děčín: Okresní myslivecký spolek ČMMS Děčín, 2007, s. 11–15.
Vorel A. & Jůnková Vymyslická P., (2020): Závěrečný report projektu OWAD č. 100322836 (Objektivní akceptace vlka v člověkem pozměněné přeshraniční krajině). Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze.
