European regional assessment: Not Applicable (NA)
EU 27 regional assessment: Not Applicable (NA)

This assessment refers to the presence of free-ranging Aoudad populations in Europe, where it is an introduced alien species, for this reason the species is listed Not Applicable in the European region and EU27. It is a relatively common game species in private hunting estates, particularly in Mediterranean countries. Current empirical information on its ecology and behaviour in European host areas does not show any evidence of deleterious effects due to its exotic origin, despite being considered an invasive species in countries like Spain or subject to eradication initiatives by public institutions. In general, introduced populations, if proper environmental conditions are met, become stable or even increase in numbers and expand their range. Eradication of small founder populations is feasible when it has been attempted. Optimal habitats are Mediterranean shrub and pasture lands, particularly in mountainous landscapes. The debate on whether its presence in European mountain areas is harmful to native flora and fauna or, on the contrary, harmless or even beneficial due to its habits as a wild grazer is still open (Cassinello 2012, 2018; Cassinello et al. 2004).

The Aoudad formed part of the European fauna during the Early Pleistocene (Moullé et al. 2004), but eventually became extinct. Current free-ranging populations have originated either by induced introductions or accidental escapes from hunting estates. The precise origin, both at the subspecific and geographic level in its native distribution, of the European wild Aoudad populations is unknown.

Croatia
Present in Mount Mosor, in the Split-Dalmatia province (Lazarus et al. 2019). Following Šprem et al. (2020), five individuals were illegally released in the wild in 2002. Current population size is estimated at around 140 individuals (Lazarus et al. 2019). The population is stable but there is an intention on the part of the competent authorities to eradicate it.

France
There is a small Aoudad population inhabiting the Mount Sainte-Victoire in Provence province since 1980 (Cugnasse and Tomeï 2016). They escaped from a hunting estate and were eventually established in the core area of this massif (4,000 ha, 400–1,011 m asl). A series of distance sampling surveys carried out in 2017 estimated a number of individuals between 100 and 200 (95% confidence interval) in open areas of the population’s range. No official eradication programme is underway.

Italy
The Italian Aoudad population seems to be confined in a restricted area of the southern slope of the Beigua Natural Regional Park (Genova and Savona provinces, Liguria), between Mount Rama and Mount Argentea, although some sporadic observations occasionally occur in other nearby areas. We estimate its population size to be around 25 individuals and increasing (Leoncini et al. 2022).

To date, Aoudads are not considered invasive in Italy, and according to some authors, its estimated potential to become so was found to be low (Bertolino et al. 2020). In any case, authorities of the Park and the Liguria Region are preparing an eradication plan that has not yet been instituted.

Spain
Spain hosts the oldest and largest Aoudad introduced population. The species is catalogued as invasive by the Spanish authorities, so that current policies aim for eradication throughout the country (but see Cassinello 2018). We distinguish three population nuclei.

Sierra Espuña Regional Park and surrounding mountain ranges, Murcia province
Spanish authorities promoted the introduction of 36 individuals in the Sierra Espuña Regional Park between 1970 and 1972. Hunting interests and the absence of native ungulates in the area originated this initiative (Cassinello 2000). Twenty years later, the population reached 2,000 individuals. Currently, and despite a devastating sarcoptic mange epidemic that took place in the 1990s and recent eradication initiatives, the Aoudad populations present in mountainous areas of the Murcia province may reach 3,000 individuals (Cassinello, Bartolomé, Eguía, Albanell and San Miguel in prep.).

Sierra María – Los Vélez Natural Park, northern Almeria province
The Aoudad population present in this mountainous area originated with the settlement of wandering individuals from the neighbouring Murcian Mountains in the early 1990s.

La Caldera de Taburiente National Park, La Palma island, Canary Islands
In 1972, the Spanish authorities also introduced a small group of Aoudads (16 individuals) in La Caldera de Taburiente National Park (Cassinello 1998). Despite environmental controversy and unsuccessful eradication attempts, currently, it is estimated a stable population of around 250 individuals (Rodríguez Luengo and Cassinello 2008).

Northern mountains of Alicante province
In the 1990s, a few individuals escaped from a hunting estate in Alicante province, originating a stable population in the northern mountainous areas, that in the early 2000s could reach up to 200 individuals (Cassinello et al. 2004). As of today, and despite the fact that a regular eradication program is being carried out by the regional authorities, around a hundred individuals could remain scattered throughout the area (C. Sapena pers. comm.).

Outside Europe, the Aoudad was widespread in rugged and mountainous terrain from deserts and semi-deserts to open forests in North Africa, but it has suffered a strong decline due to poaching and competition from domestic livestock.

Aoudad has been introduced in Europe from multiple genetic sources (four clusters based on mtDNA control region), with the population in the Sierra Espuña as the only population in which more than one haplotype was detected (Stipoljev et al. 2021).

The Aoudad population present in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula is the largest one in Europe, and one of the largest worldwide, probably close to 3,000 individuals. It is followed by the populations present in La Palma (Spain), Croatia and Alicante (Spain). Estimation of the total European population is a minimum of 3,500 mature individuals.

Croatia
Current population size is estimated in ca 140 individuals and stable (Lazarus et al. 2019).

France
The minimum population size is estimated at 130 individuals (M. Garel pers. comm.).

Italy
We estimate its population size to be around 25 individuals and increasing (Leoncini et al. 2022).

Spain
We estimate around 3,000 individuals in Murcia province, and increasing despite hunting control. In Alicante, the population is decreasing through hunting promoted by an eradication program, and there will remain approximately a hundred individuals (C. Sapena pers. comm.). And on La Palma island, there might be ca. 250 individuals and stable despite eradication attempts (Rodríguez Luengo and Cassinello 2008).

Aoudads are found in various habitats, from clear forests (avoiding dense forests) to various types of steppes. They tend to occupy rocky and often precipitous areas, from near sea level up to snow-free areas at about 4,167 m (such as the Moroccan Atlas), using sparse tree cover for shade. In Spain, they have reached 1,583 m (Morrón de Sierra Espuña, Murcia, Spain). They might wander far from water sources for long periods of time, even for years, if they manage to find succulent forbs that supply water requirements (see Poilecot 1991). During the day, they take refuge in the steep slopes to avoid human disturbance or predation (Irzagh et al. 2020). This species is a generalist herbivore combining grazing with browsing, although recent analyses of its feeding habits in Spain (Miranda et al. 2012), Croatia (Lazarus et al. 2019), Tunisia (Ben Mimoun and Nouira 2015), Algeria (Bounaceur et al. 2016) and Morocco (Bachiri et al. 2021) show a significant greater consumption of grasses and forbs, pointing towards a behaviour more typical of grazer species, which may have relevant conservation implications for wild pasture lands. They do not show migratory movements, not even small, in relation to food availability, probably due to the high resource availability present in the European mountainous areas where they are present.

As an alien species in Europe, considered invasive in some European countries, e.g. in Spain, where the largest populations are present, they are mostly subject to eradication programmes. However, these programmes tend to be unsuccessful, unless the target population is small enough and clearly located in a specific and accessible area. In Europe, Aoudad populations are not exposed to natural threats, as there are very few predators and apparently no native competitors, except for the Iberian Ibex which seems to be able to displace them from mountainous areas (S. Eguía pers. comm.). However, in Croatia, they are regularly preyed upon by wolves, and apparently, this is the main reason why the population does not spread from rough mountainous terrain to surrounding habitats (Gančević 2022).

This is a game species, hunted for meat (in its native lands) and trophy; it was, introduced for hunting purposes (trophy) in different countries.

As an alien species in Europe, no conservation actions have been implemented to preserve Aoudad populations. Where successfully introduced, they managed to acquire the required resources to survive and in some cases disperse to nearby suitable areas.