Evaluating hunting and capture methods for urban wild boar population management

Area of Science:

• Wildlife Ecology
• Population Management
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Wild ungulate populations, particularly wild boar (Sus scrofa), are increasing globally, leading to human-wildlife conflicts.
• In the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (MAB), wild boar cause significant nuisance, including traffic accidents and health risks.
• Effective population control requires selective harvesting and reduced human food sources, but current methods' biases are poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance and age/sex selectivity of various wild boar capture methods in the MAB.
• To identify seasonal patterns in the effectiveness of different capture techniques.
• To provide data for optimizing wild boar population management strategies.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 1454 wild boar captures in the MAB from February 2014 to August 2022.
• Comparison of capture methods: drop net, teleanaesthesia, cage traps, night stalks, and drive hunting.
• Application of generalized linear models (GLM) to assess performance across age classes (juvenile, yearling, adult) and seasons.

Main Results:

• Capture methods exhibited age-class and sex biases, particularly in adult wild boar (>2 years).
• Drive hunting and drop nets were effective for adult females and yearlings (1-2 years), with drive hunting excelling for adult males.
• Cage traps and drop nets were most effective for juveniles (<1 year).
• Capture performance peaked in summer, followed by autumn and spring, with winter showing the lowest performance.

Conclusions:

• Wildlife managers need to consider the specific age and sex biases of each capture method for efficient wild boar population control.
• Seasonal variations significantly affect capture success, with summer being the most productive season.
• Optimizing capture strategies requires balancing method effectiveness, selectivity, and associated public costs.