engleski

Space use and activity patterns of Barbary sheep in Mosor mountain

The Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) is a species of caprid (goat-antelope) native to Atlas Mountains of North Africa from Mauritania in the west to the Red Sea in the east. During 2002, five Barbary sheep (three females and two males) of unknown origin have been illegally released in the southern Dinaric region (Mosor Mountain ; 1.339 m a.s.l.) of Croatia. In order to better understand the ecology of the Barbary sheep, especially its general activity pattern, habitat selection, and potential for further spatial expansion, we captured and tracked six animals with the use of GPS-GSM collars. Animals cumulatively moved 1.63 km per day and their circadian activity had two pronounced peaks in the morning and in the evening. Peak activity changed in accordance to seasonal dynamics of the photoperiod. Generally, the tracked animals moved mainly along the mountain ridges of Mosor Mt. and several times moved along the entire range (approx. 25 km) in relatively short time (2-4 days). On the other hand, movements perpendicular to the main mountain range were short and usually stopped at the mountain foothills with higher vegetation cover and less extreme terrain. Monthly home-range size ranged from 0.6 to 17.0 km2. For one animal we were also able to estimate its annual home-range size: 26.0 km2. Also, camera-trapping was conducted over a 12-month period, using 10 cameras randomly distributed over the study area. Over the study period, a total of 3, 519 JPEG images and six species were recorded: Barbary sheep, wild boar, grey wolf, red fox, badger and wild cat. Current data suggest that Barbary sheep in the study area are limited to the Mosor Mt. range and are unlikely to expand their range.

Ammotragus lervia ; ungulate ; GPS collars ; camera trapping ; Dinarides

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