Action D1: Periodical monitoring of the new populations and their habitat

The released species will be regularly monitored since the liberation day, to verify the effectiveness of the reintroduction.

All the species will be equipped with unique markings that allow their localization and identification; with the currently available technology it’s possible to indicate in the radio – collars (GPS) the best choice for marking and the radio-telemetric monitoring of the founding animals. Some termo – cameras will be bought with the aim of monitoring the species in their originally areas as well as in the reintroduction ones, to assess the value of both the structure and the dynamics of the population. All data, collected during the monitoring of the released animals, will be organized in written reports, accompanied by cartography, indicating all the information about every single deer and any problem occurred after the freeing.

The VHF radio – collar signal (homing method) aims to verify the species’ physical conditions as well as to try to identify the individuals with no radio-collar.

The reintroduction’s program includes the realization of a specific monitoring of the effects that a group of reintroduced deer could have on the forestry heritage as well as on the cultivated lands. This aspect is particular important because it could cause a negative attitude of the humans towards the animals and it can consequently compromise the chances of success of the reintroduction’s program in the long period. 

The main damages that can be provoked by the deer are:
1. of food-born, as the nibble of the buds or the debarking

2. of behavioral origin, as rubbing damages during the antlers’ change.

The monitoring phase will be carried on by operators and technicians of the LIFE Project, in the reintroduction’s sites of Supramonte di Oliena, Orgosolo and Urzulei – Su Suercone ITB ITB022212, Gulf of Orosei ITB020014, Monti del Gennargentu ITB021103 in Sardinia e Chênaie verte et juniperaie de la Tartagine FR9402004, Massif de l’Incudine FR9400582, Rivière et Vallée du Fangu FR9400577 in Corse.

In addition to the new populations’ monitoring, the population of origin (the founders) in the sites of  Arcuentu and Rio Piscinas ITB040031 (Province Medio Campidano) will be examined. Here, the applied methods are Distance Sampling and infrared-camera. The infrared–cameras allow identifying the species through the thick vegetation. This device, used in combination with the Distance Sampling method, is useful to evaluate the population’s density.