KIDJO, N., FERACCI, G., BIDEAU, E., GONZALEZ, G., MATTEI, C., MARCHAND, B. & AULAGNIER, S. (2007)
Extirpation and reintroduction of the Corsican red deer Cervus elaphus corsicanus in Corsica.
Oryx Vol. 41 (4): 488-494, ISSN 0030-6053. Fauna and Flora International. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0030605307012069
Abstract:
The Endangered Corsican red deer Cervus elaphus corsicanus was extirpated from Corsica in the early 1970s, at which time the Sardinian population fell to <250 individuals. The Sardinian authorities agreed to protect this subspecies and to secure its reintroduction in Corsica, a natural choice, considering ethological and historical descriptions. Since the beginning of 1985, when the first deer destined for captive breeding and eventual reintroduction arrived in Corsica, the population increased from 13 Sardinian founders to 106 captive animals under constant monitoring in three enclosures (Quenza, Casabianda and Ania di Fium'Orbu). The sites of Quenza, Chisà and Santo Pietro di Venaco were selected by the Regional Nature Park of Corsica for the reintroduction into the wild that began in 1998. Currently the size of the whole Corsican population is c. 250 individuals. These deer are still closely monitored and studied, both in enclosures and in the wild, to secure the long-term conservation of this subspecies. The Corsican and Sardinian populations together now total slightly >1,000, and the subspecies could therefore be downgraded to Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
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