Using harvest data to predict habitat-population relationship of the wild boarSus scrofa in Northern Italy

The relationships between the wild boarSus scrofa, Linnaeus 1758 density and the habitat characteristics were investigated by collecting bag records in 18 hunting areas during the 1995 and 1996 hunting seasons. The study areas were located in the Northern Apennines (N-Italy) from 470 to 1160 m a.s.l. In each study area a Density Index (DI) was calculated by weighting the number of wild boar culled in each hunting season on the number of hunting days and on the surface of the study areas. Moreover 16 habitat variables were measured in each study area. Correlation and regression analyses were performed considering the DI as a dependent variable. Mixed deciduous woods were positively correlated with wild boar density together with chestnuts woods and conifer reafforestations. No significant negative correlations were found. Twelve multiple regression models each including three habitat variables were ranked by the information-theoretic approach (modified Akaike’s information criterion). The study stressed the importance of mixed woods for wild boar and the usefulness of hunting data as a mean to predict the habitat suitability for the species.