The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) has been widely persecuted in Western Europe until the end of the nineteenth century. During the past few decades, the populations of this species have extended their range in most West European countries. Because of the species’ elusiveness, the study of its populations is a difficult endeavour over the scale of a whole country. The present study assesses the biases and usefulness of national-scale citizen science data to estimate and predict the distribution of the European wildcat in France. The oldest observations (before 1980) seem to be biased as having been contributed by a small number of observers. Another potential bias identified here is the habitat where wildcats were observed which seems to be influenced by their accessibility to observers. Overall, after considering these biases, the analyses with the MaxEnt and MaxLike frameworks found that altitude, temperature seasonality, and broadleaved forest cover are significant predictors of the probabilities of wildcat presence in France. Herbaceous cover, needleleaved forest cover, and urban areas are the most important variables with a negative effect on those probabilities. These results confirm the importance of mosaic-structured habitats where wildcats are likely to find food and shelters. The maps of predicted probabilities of wildcat presence from these models are consistent with the map of recent observations. The results from the present study point to the importance of the Jura Mountains for conservation, as well as some perspectives to improve the impact of citizen science data.
Determining whether landscape greenness influences the spatial distribution of desert bighorn (Ovis canadensis mexicana) may aid in understanding their foraging ecology and better defining critical habitats. Hence, we evaluated whether monthly and seasonal distributions of adult females were associated with plant phenology, using NDVI as an index of landscape greenness. We monitored 19 radio-collared adult females, 2019–2021, in Sonora, Mexico, an arid landscape characterized by highly seasonal and patchy precipitation. We contrasted mean NDVI within home ranges and desert bighorn locations with an emphasis on the late-gestation and primary lactation period because of the high energetic demand on females. We also compared monthly and seasonal distribution among years to assess whether females showed strong fidelity to particular sites. Distribution was not positively associated with greenness during historic timing of reproductive seasons; overall, positive associations occurred in only three months annually. Low fidelity to areas among years indicated that females could have sought out greater greenness if desired. Overall, desert bighorn distribution in Sonora was likely more influenced by other habitat features, such as security terrain. Our results highlight the importance of drought-tolerant shrubs and succulents (which may show lesser greenness responses than do herbaceous forages) near escape terrain for desert bighorn foraging, given their prevalence in diets in Sonora. Female desert bighorn distribution showed weak association with NDVI-based landscape greenness. Positive greenness associations occurred in only 3 months across the annual cycle. Low site fidelity among years suggests flexibility to track resources if needed. Security terrain likely outweighed presumed forage quality in shaping female distribution.
This preliminary study investigated the autumn–winter diet of the raccoon (Procyon lotor) in the Czech Republic using stomach-content analysis. A total of 46 raccoons were collected from October to February during two consecutive autumn–winter sampling periods (2024/2025 and 2025/2026), comprising 29 individuals from the eastern and 17 from the western sampling region. The western sampling region was characterised by a predominantly forested landscape with grasslands and surrounding agricultural land, whereas the eastern sampling region comprised a heterogeneous mosaic of agricultural landscapes, floodplain forests, and wetlands. Six stomachs were empty and excluded from dietary analyses, resulting in 40 stomachs with identifiable dietary contents. Agricultural crops dominated the diet, accounting for 65.8
The blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) represents a fascinating case study in ecological adaptation and conservation. Once widespread across the open grasslands and semi-arid plains of the Indian subcontinent, its population declined sharply due to habitat fragmentation, poaching, and competition with livestock. Despite these challenges, the blackbuck has demonstrated remarkable resilience, with populations increasing in many areas, particularly within protected reserves and community-managed landscapes. This review examines habitat structure, population dynamics, foraging behaviour, human-wildlife interactions, crop damage, and the conservation of blackbucks, with a special focus on blackbucks in Odisha. Initially, abstracts of 572 pieces of literature from different sources were considered, and 123 resources relevant for this synthesis were thoroughly reviewed. Most studies focus on social structure and behaviour, foraging behaviour, population dynamics and distribution. Prey-predator dynamics, biological interactions and movement ecology of blackbucks were the least studied. Blackbucks survived medium anthropogenic pressures and sustained low daily water intake. Activity patterns, habitat structure, inter- and intraspecific interactions, and food availability influence blackbuck’s social behaviour. Habitat fragmentation and land-use changes isolate blackbucks to smaller areas, restricting their movement and ability to find mates. Checking habitat degradation, optimising human-wildlife coexistence, exploring reintroduction possibilities in former ranges, assessing the genetic health of fragmented populations, patronising community involvement in conservation, restricting land sale/purchase in blackbuck-inhabited areas, identifying core areas of distribution by tracking movement ecologyand constructing safe corridors for free passage of blackbucks could help in good management. A fundamental shift in the forest-focused conservation approach towards species-specific ecosystem restoration could help restore declining grassland specialists like blackbucks. Using advanced computing techniques and developing an automated visualisation tool could help educate stakeholders and prioritise decision-making in conservation planning. This review integrates blackbuck’s behaviour and ecology with conservation and identifies focus areas essential for long-term conservation through community engagement.
We report here the first record of a crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus) at Las Baulas Marine National Park, Guanacaste Province, northwest Costa Rica. We obtained repeated camera-trap detections at multiple sites between 2021 and 2025, indicating that the species occurs farther north than previously documented, consistent with a potential northward range expansion. We recorded 70 independent detections of crab-eating raccoons, accounting for approximately 17.9
