This year, new monitoring programmes of wild boar populations in Catalonia are being initiated using the Random Encounter Model (REM), based on camera trapping, within the framework of the Catalan Wild Boar Monitoring Programme (PSS). This programme, promoted by the Department of Agriculture of the Government of Catalonia and Barcelona Provincial Council, has been in place since 1999 and provides information on wild boar population trends, mainly based on hunting statistics and other indicators associated with hunting activity. As part of this monitoring programme, new REM-based studies have been initiated in the Alt Pallars and Boumort National Hunting Reserves, the Montseny Natural Park and Biosphere Reserve, and the Montnegre i el Corredor Natural Park. These monitoring programmes are coordinated with those of the national network and with IREC, applying standardised methods.
In recent years, MINUARTIA has worked on the application and validation of the REM methodology using camera-trapping techniques to estimate the density of wild boar and other ungulates in different areas of Catalonia, including areas affected by African swine fever, in collaboration with the Rural Agents Corps and DARPA. The technique is also applied in different protected natural areas, such as Aiguamolls de l’Empordà Natural Park and Montsant Natural Park, among others, in collaboration with protected-area managers and DTES.
One of the main advantages of the method is that it makes it possible to estimate ungulate density in areas where hunting does not take place and, therefore, where population indicators derived from hunting activity are not available. Camera trapping thus makes it possible to extend monitoring to areas where traditional methodologies have limitations. Furthermore, as it is a standardised methodology, it makes it easier to compare estimated densities across different regions.
These studies will contribute to the continued generation of quantitative information on wild boar populations under different management contexts and to the development of improved indicators to support decision-making in the management of the species and the ecosystems in which it occurs. They also provide density estimates for roe deer, red deer, fallow deer and other ungulates.
