Feralization: A threat to conservation of wild reindeer | ENEngelskEnglishFeralization: A threat to conservation of wild reindeer
2024
Mysterud, Atle | Flagstad, Øystein | Strand, Olav
Conservation reintroduction is an increasingly applied tool for population restoration. The choice of source population is important from a conservation genetic perspective, but there is ambiguity in IUCN policies surrounding reintroductions from (semi-)domestic sources. After the depopulation of an entire wild reindeer population due to detection of chronic wasting disease in Norway, the plan is to re-establish reindeer after years of fallowing. Establishing wild reindeer has become challenging due to arguments for disease control favoring a semidomestic origin of the reintroduced stock. Selection is strong during domestication, and feralization does not lead to a full reversal towards wild traits. From a conservation perspective, we advocate future guidelines to include a ranking when wild, captive, semidomestic, and domestic stocks are available for reintroductions, in order to avoid feralization whenever possible during reintroductions and rewilding efforts.
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