Integrating GPS-Tracked Sentinel Species Into the Fight Against Wildlife Poisoning

Abstract

The cryptic nature of wildlife crimes challenges the detection and implementation of effective prevention and prosecution measures. Allocating often limited resources will benefit from increasing detectability through evidence-informed integration of sentinel GPS-tracked species. We illustrate this by analyzing the spatial use of 25 GPS-tracked griffons and 26 reintroduced bearded vultures with anti-poison canine unit patrols and a wildlife poisoning risk map in NW Spain. Vultures’ spatial use greatly correlated with high-risk areas, highlighting their role in detecting poisoning events and guiding preventive anti-poison patrolling, allowing us to approach a zonation scheme to optimize efforts in this regard. We identified poisoning hotspots where sentinel and anti-poison canine units should be reinforced and high-risk areas with low sentinel monitoring where on-ground efforts should be increased. While emphasizing the potential of GPS-tracked vultures as sentinels, our results offer an example of strategic integration to prioritize interventions and enhance their effectiveness against wildlife crimes.