The Boss Is Back in Town: Insights into the Wolf Recolonization of a Highly Anthropized and Low-Ungulate-Density Environment
Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Data Collection and Processing
2.3. Data Analyses
2.3.1. Wolf Distribution
2.3.2. Activity Pattern and Overlap
2.3.3. Diet Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Wolf Distribution
3.2. Activity Pattern and Overlap
3.3. Wolf Diet
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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2015–2019 | 2020–2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Occurrence data with SCALP code | C1 | 43 | 377 |
C2 | 4 | 30 | |
C3 | / | / | |
Tot | 47 | 407 | |
Number of square grids | Sporadic | 11 | 18 |
Permanent | 4 | 15 | |
Tot | 15 | 33 | |
Number of unique reproductions | 3 | 8 |
Year of Reproduction | % Forest | Number of Forested Patches | Total Forested Area (km2) | Number of Ovicaprine Farms | % Protected Areas | Road Density (km/km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 36.73 | 28 | 11.61 | 6 | 0.72 | 4.55 |
2018 | 27.40 | 10 | 5.84 | 3 | 0 | 4.31 |
2019 | 27.37 | 32 | 7.98 | 2 | 0 | 3.17 |
2020 | 4.311 | 25 | 4.16 | 14 | 5.37 | 4.58 |
2020 | 4.09 | 40 | 2.92 | 12 | 8.30 | 4.14 |
2022 | 2.11 | 32 | 2.11 | 10 | 0 | 3.27 |
2023 | 2.2 | 22 | 0.96 | / | 5.89 | 4.55 |
2024 | 0.99 | 20 | 0.99 | 36 | 0.29 | 5.88 |
2024 | 0.70 | 7 | 7 | / | 0 | 1.36 |
Model | df | logLik | AICc | Δ AIC | Weight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Forest_count * | 2 | −12.5049 | 29.5316 | 0 | 0.2020 |
Forest_count * + PA_perc | 3 | −11.7519 | 30.5948 | 1.0632 | 0.1187 |
Forest_count * + Forest_perc | 3 | −11.7657 | 30.6224 | 1.0908 | 0.1171 |
Forest_count * + N_farms + Forest_perc | 4 | −10.3976 | 30.7000 | 1.1684 | 0.1126 |
Forest_count * + N_farms | 3 | −12.1603 | 31.4114 | 1.8798 | 0.0789 |
Monitoring Area | Number of Camera Traps | Camera-Trap Nights | Species | Number of Independent Detections | RAI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Site 1 | 11 | 732 | Wolf | 363 | 49.59 |
Red fox | 1548 | 211.48 | |||
Badger | 300 | 40.98 | |||
Beech marten | 215 | 29.37 | |||
Wild boar | 303 | 41.39 | |||
Domestic cat | 68 | 9.29 | |||
Human | 554 | 75.68 | |||
Site 2 | 4 | 480 | Wolf | 19 | 3.96 |
Red fox | 163 | 33.96 | |||
Badger | 28 | 5.83 | |||
Beech marten | 7 | 1.46 | |||
Wild boar | / | / | |||
Domestic cat | 8 | 1.67 | |||
Human | 221 | 46.04 | |||
Site 3 | 2 | 190 | Wolf | 26 | 13.68 |
Red fox | 134 | 70.53 | |||
Badger | 11 | 5.79 | |||
Beech marten | / | / | |||
Wild boar | / | / | |||
Domestic cat | 3 | 1.58 | |||
Human | 92 | 48.42 |
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Frangini, L.; Marzano, G.; Comuzzi, A.; De Giovanni, A.; Gallizia, A.; Franchini, M.; Rugge, M.; De Luca, M.; De Matteis, G.; Filacorda, S. The Boss Is Back in Town: Insights into the Wolf Recolonization of a Highly Anthropized and Low-Ungulate-Density Environment. Animals 2025, 15, 1958. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15131958
Frangini L, Marzano G, Comuzzi A, De Giovanni A, Gallizia A, Franchini M, Rugge M, De Luca M, De Matteis G, Filacorda S. The Boss Is Back in Town: Insights into the Wolf Recolonization of a Highly Anthropized and Low-Ungulate-Density Environment. Animals. 2025; 15(13):1958. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15131958
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrangini, Lorenzo, Giacomo Marzano, Alice Comuzzi, Andrea De Giovanni, Andrea Gallizia, Marcello Franchini, Michela Rugge, Marco De Luca, Giuseppe De Matteis, and Stefano Filacorda. 2025. "The Boss Is Back in Town: Insights into the Wolf Recolonization of a Highly Anthropized and Low-Ungulate-Density Environment" Animals 15, no. 13: 1958. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15131958
APA StyleFrangini, L., Marzano, G., Comuzzi, A., De Giovanni, A., Gallizia, A., Franchini, M., Rugge, M., De Luca, M., De Matteis, G., & Filacorda, S. (2025). The Boss Is Back in Town: Insights into the Wolf Recolonization of a Highly Anthropized and Low-Ungulate-Density Environment. Animals, 15(13), 1958. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15131958