Inter-agency coordination fosters the recovery of the Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica at its western limit

Abstract

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 Aragon and, in 1995-1996, monitoring of both populations began. In the two massifs where the subspecies lives, which lie across the border of the two jurisdictions, chamois populations increased from 33 to 136 and from 144 to 455 by 2007 (average annual increases were 15 and 11%, respectively). The subspecies was also located on a third massif, in 2002. After the recovery the ban against hunting was lifted in Aragon, in 2006, with a sustainable hunting quota based on 5% of the estimated minimum population size. We conclude that coordinated management between agencies in two jurisdictions has fostered the recovery of the Pyrenean chamois. © 2010 Fauna & Flora International.