Veinte a os de seguimiento poblacional de ungulados silvestres de Aragón

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 a shift in the management goals from conservation to population control. Different methods have been used in the surveys: postal enquiries for distribution, battues, distance sampling, night spotlight surveys and indirect ones based on transect and plot counts of pellet groups. Surveys started in 1985 for red deer, 1990 for wild boar and Iberian wild goat, 1995 for chamois and 2002 for roe deer, gradually becoming a population monitoring program. The surveys are carried out by rangers and wildlife consultants under the coordination and supervision of the Fish and Game Service of the Aragon Government. The ungulate populations are still growing (wild boar, wild goat, red and roe deer), are relatively stabilised (fallow deer, feral goat), fluctuate due to diseases (chamois) or show small populations limited to fenced states (Barbary sheep, mouflon). Hunting bags went from 1,100 to 36,000 during an eleven-year period (1990-2009): 303 chamois, 1,173 wild goats, 2,141 roe deer, 2,424 red deer and 29,595 wild boars, showing a trend which is still increasing. The main tool is therefore hunting quota and its verification through hunting bags declarations, damages to crops and car crashes, and population trend and abundance. La importante expansión de las poblaciones de ungulados silvestres en Aragón desde los a os 50 del siglo XX hasta la actualidad, tanto en superficie ocupada como en abundancia de ejemplares, ha hecho necesario el seguimiento de las mismas para su adecuada gestión. Su incremento en las dos últimas décadas, junto con el importante aumento de da os agrícolas y colisiones con vehículos, ha motivado un importante cambio en los criterios gestores; pasando de la conservación y fomento al control e incluso reducción de efectivos. Los métodos utilizados para el seguimiento de las poblaciones fueron: encuestas quincenales de distribución, batidas, muestreos de distancia, captura – recaptura, fareos nocturnos y muestreos indirectos basados en el conteo de grupos de excrementos en transectos y parcelas fijas. Los seguimientos se comenzaron a realizar en 1985 en el caso del ciervo, 1990 en el jabalí y cabra montesa, 1995 en el sarrio y 2002 en el corzo, habiéndose convertido paulatinamente en una verdadera monit