Radio-controlled up-net enclosure to capture free-ranging Alpine chamois Rupicapra rupicapra

We used an enclosure trap with a lifting net to capture Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra). The trap was activated by remote radio-controlled electromagnets powered by photovoltaic modules. The up-net trap had considerable advantages over mechanical methods described in the literature for the capture of chamois. During 36 capture sessions, we captured 50 chamois, or 1.39 animals per session. Capture success was 96.2% of the average of 1.4 animals that entered the trap during a capture session. Mortality was 2%, and another 2% of the captured chamois was injured. There were no known postrelease capture-induced pathologies, and the capture effort was 1.7 man-days per chamois. The trap allowed to select specific target animals and to capture sex–age classes (particularly kids and their mothers) that are normally difficult or impossible to capture. It could be set off from a distance; it only required about 4 h to assemble and could be operated by as few as two people.