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For centuries, game meat has been an important source of proteins, vitamins and minerals in the human diet. Interest for game meat during last few decades is increasing, mainly due to lower ecological footprint and a preferred chemical composition in comparison to the meat of domestic animals. In recent years, Europe has been facing an overpopulation of wild boars, which affects the availability of game meat to a wider niche of consumers. Therefore, wild game meat is a great alternative to others red meats and it has a great advantage on the world meat market. Regarding physical parameters of wild boar meat wide range of values can be found depending on analysed muscle type, sex, age, season and/or hunting technique. In general, same as meat of other large game species, wild boar meat is darker (lower L*), more red (higher a*) and colour parameter values can highly vary depending on previously mentioned factors. pH value usually ranges between 5.5 to 5.8, but also variations are often as wild boars have different post-mortem pH decline than domestic pigs. Expected cooking loss of wild boar meat is about 30% and higher, while meat tenderness measured as Warner-Bratzler shear force is usually higher than 40 N., Stoljećima je meso divljači važan izvor bjelančevina, vitamina i minerala u ljudskoj prehrani. Zanimanje za mesom divljači posljednjih je desetljeća u porastu, uglavnom zbog niskog ekološkog otiska i preferiranog kemijskog sastava u usporedbi s mesom domaćih životinja. Posljednjih godina Europa se suočava s porastom populacije divljih svinja, što utječe na dostupnost ovog mesa većem broju potrošača. Stoga je meso divljači izvrsna alternativa crvenom mesu domaćih životinja i ima veliku prednost na svjetskom tržištu mesa. Fizikalni parametri kakvoće mesa divlje svinje mogu poprimiti vrlo različite vrijednosti ovisno o anatomskoj poziciji mišića, spolu, dobi i/ili tehnici lova. Općenito, meso divlje svinje kao i meso drugih vrsta krupne divljači je tamnije (niže vrijednosti parametra boje L*) i crvenije (više vrijednosti parametra boje a*) te vrijednosti parametara boje mogu jako varirati ovisno o prije spomenutim čimbenicima. Obično pH vrijednost mesa divlje svinje je u raspon između 5,5 i 5,8, međutim moguća su veća odstupanja budući da post-mortalni pad pH u divlje svinje nije jednak onome u domaćih svinja. Očekivani kalo kuhanja iznosi oko 30% i više, dok otpor presijecanju kao mjera mekoće mesa obično iznosi više od 40 N.

Regular assessments of species’ status are an essential component of conservation planning and adaptive management. They allow the progress of past or ongoing conservation actions to be evaluated and can be used to redirect and prioritize future conservation actions. Most countries perform periodic assessments for their own national adaptive management procedures or national red lists. Furthermore, the countries of the European Union have to report on the status of all species listed on the directives of the Habitats Directive every 6 years as part of their obligations under Article 17. However, these national level assessments are often made using non-standardized procedures and do not always adequately reflect the biological units (i.e., the populations) which are needed for ecologically meaningful assessments. Since the early 2000’s the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (a Specialist Group of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission) has been coordinating periodic surveys of the status of large carnivores across Europe (e.g., von Arx et al. 2004; Salvatori & Linnell 2005, Kaczensky et al. 2013). These have covered the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the wolf (Canis lupus), the brown bear (Ursus arctos) and the wolverine (Gulo gulo). The golden jackal (Canis aureus) has been added to the LCIE prerogatives in 2014. The species is rapidly expanding in Europe (Trouwborst et al. 2015; Männil & Ranc 2022), a large-scale phenomenon that resembles that of the other large carnivores. Golden jackals are thriving in human-dominated landscapes (Ćirović et al. 2016; Lanszki et al. 2018; Fenton et al. 2021), where they are often functioning as the top predators, despite having smaller body size that is typical for large carnivores. The expansion of the species triggers many questions among scientists, stakeholders, and policy makers (Trouwborst et al. 2015; Hatlauf et al. 2021), that are closely connected to those raised by the other large carnivores (e.g., potential conflicts with livestock or hunting). In this context, monitoring the species’ expansion, delineating populations, assessing the species' legal and protection status, and addressing the concerns raised by this rapidly expanding carnivore requires a high level of coordination among regional experts. These surveys involve the contributions of the best available experts and sources of information. While the underlying data quality and field methodology varies widely across Europe, these coordinated assessments do their best to integrate the diverse data in a comparable manner and make the differences transparent. They also endeavor to conduct the assessments on the most important scales. This includes the continental scale (all countries except for Russia, Belarus, Moldova and the parts of Ukraine outside the Carpathian Mountain range), the scale of the EU 28 (where the Habitats Directive operates) and of the biological populations which reflect the scale at which ecological processes occur (Linnell et al. 2008). In this way, the independent LCIE assessments provide a valuable complement to the ongoing national processes. Our last assessments covered the period 2006-2011 (Kaczensky et al. 2013; Chapron et al. 2014) but, at the time, did not include golden jackals. The current assessment is based on the period 2012-2016 and broadly follows the same methodology. Explicit distinctions are made between classification based on empirical data and expert opinion. The population definitions used in this report follow those proposed in (Ranc et al. 2018); areas whose presence category was defined by expert opinion were not assigned to a specific population, though.

U radu se opisuje zakonska podloga i lovačka odjeća za lov predatora vabljenjem.

Tracking for wounded game animals with a tracking dog is one of the most demanding disciplines of hunting cynology. Tracking demands sharp skills, concentration and specialized equipment both for the dog handler and tracking dog. Equipment must be practical and functional with protective features at the same time. Tracking can be done through whole year around, from warm and dry to cold and wet weather conditions. Terrains can be very different from sharp rocks or high forests to thick and thorny bushes or even mud plains. Besides that, there is a high risk of getting wounded by a wild animal while tracking. Therefore, equipment must also be impenetrable and durable. In this paper you can read more about specific equipment for dog handlers and tracking dogs.

The objective of this study was to determine cortisol concentration in the serum of hunted wild boar in Croatia. Blood samples were collected during regular hunting season in the period between November 2018 and January 2020. Blood samples were taken from wild boar hunted using two most common methods: driven (n=139) and individual hunt (n=61) from high seats. Additionally, animals obtained by driven hunt were divided on those hunted in the unfenced areas (n=83) and fenced area (N=56). Fencing was considered as possible source of additional stress. Serum cortisol was determined using an enzyme immunoassay kit (Cortisol ELISA kit, Enzo Life Sciences, Inc.). Differences in cortisol concentration were observed between analysed hunting methods. As potential stress- related indicator, mean cortisol concentration was the highest in serum of wild boar culled during fenced driven hunt (327.18±46.53 nmol/l). In unfenced driven hunt mean cortisol concentration was slightly lower (312.57±35.57 nmol/L). Individual hunt from high-seats had the lowest (p

The aim of this study was to determine the microhabitat, relief and forest structure characteristics of brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) cave dens and other types of dens in the North Dinarides (Velebit Nature Park) in Croatia. In total, 63 dens were identified, consisting of 89% cave dens and 11% other den types (nest dens 6%, stump dens 3%, trunk dens 2%). In the 20-meter radius around each den, microhabitat, relief and structural characteristics were recorded, including altitude, slope, exposition, rockiness, forest developmental stage, canopy density, tree height, forest site index, tree basal area, and tree species composition. Based on altitude, the climatic category was determined according to the Köppen climate classification. The majority of cave dens (62%) were in the temperate climate category. Most cave dens were at altitudes between 900 and 1100 m, with a southern exposition and slope class between 30 to 60%, situated in partial canopy density of the third forest site index with tree heights between 16 and 20 m and without forest degradation. Slopes and tree heights were lower (p < 0.019) in cave den areas in comparison to other den types.

The aim of this research was to determine effect of gender on physical characteristics of wild boar meat. Animals (n=85 ; 27 male and 56 female) were harvested during drive hunt in period between November 2018 and January 2019 in the open state hunting ground ˝Prolom˝. Muscle samples (m. psoas major) were taken post mortem, vacuumed packed and stored at minus 20ºC until analyses. Physical characteristics (colour, pH, thawing loss and cooking loss) of muscle samples were determined as described by Honikel (1998). Meat colour was measured using Minolta Chromameter CR-450 (Minolta Co., Ltd., Japan) with 50-mm measurement area after 1 hour of blooming and pH was measured using pH meter S2 Food Kit (Mettler– Toledo d.o.o., Columbus, Ohio, USA). Statistical analyses were made using SAS Software V9.4 (Cary, NC, USA). Average values of meat colour parameters (L*, a*, b*) were as follows: 37.97±0.38, 21.47± 0.28, 9.33±0.21. Differences in meat colour parameters between males and females were minor (38.32±0.48 vs. 37.78±0.49 ; 21.16±0.37 vs. 21.69±0.37 ; 9.39±0.31 vs. 9.38±0.27). Average pH was 6.22±0.32 and in males was found lower (p>0.05) pH than in females (5.73±0.04 vs. 6.44±0.48). Average thawing loss was 9.58±0.44 % and was lower (p>0.05) in females than in males (9.44±0.53 vs. 10.19±0.77). Average cooking loss was 17.90±0.62 and was higher (p

EFSA aims to improve European capacities for monitoring wildlife populations. Therefore, it awarded the ENETWILD consortium to assess the viability of the application of citizen science in the monitoring of mammals at European level, evaluating possible limitations, advantages and added values, as well as promoting the best practices that would increase the quality of data and the participation of citizens. The specific objectives are: (i) to look for communication strategies differentiated by countries, languages and cultures to involve citizens in the collection of data on the geographical distribution and abundance of the mammal population in Europe using web platforms and / or mobile devices (such as phones and tablets) ; (ii) to propose and implement citizen communication and participation strategies to encourage the collection of high quality data ; (iii) propose and apply a method to evaluate the quality of the data collected by citizens and compare them with the data collected by professionals, (iv) to evaluate the feasibility of the application of citizen science in the monitoring of wildlife at European level, and provide information on potential limitations, advantages and added values, as well as on the best practices that promote data quality and crowd participation. The 2-year project is developed in two phases: in the first, the strategies are implemented in 4 pilot countries (Germany, Croatia, Spain and Poland), and later, taking profit from the experience developed, to expand the approach to the rest of Europe, mainly through communication tools and use of social networks.

Traženje ranjene divljači po krvnom tragu sa psom krvosljednikom jedna je od najzahtjevnijih disciplina lovne kinologije. Cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi kako meteorološki čimbenici (temperatura zraka, relativna vlaga), starost traga ranjene divljači i mjesto pogotka utječu na uspješnost traženja ranjene divljači. Istraživanje je provedeno na području državnog otvorenog lovišta broj VII/15 „Zapadna Garjevica“ u Hrvatskoj (2003-2009) i to na prirodnom tragu ranjene krupne divljači. Ukupno su izvedene 363 potrage za ranjenom divljači s dva psa pasmine hanoverski krvosljednik prilikom kojih je pronađeno 241 grlo ranjene divljači. U 53, 1 %slučajeva na kraju traga pronađena je živa divljač koju je bilo potrebno zaustaviti i usmrtiti samilosnim hicem. Starost traga ranjene divljači kretala se od 0, 5 do 26 sati. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da temperatura zraka ima važnu ali ne i presudnu ulogu u uspjehu potraga za ranjenom divljači. Najlošiji rezultati traženja postignuti su vrijeme i nakon jake kiše.

Rewilding is being promoted as an ambitious upgrade to current approaches to nature conservation. Interest is growing in popular and scientific literatures, and rewilding is the subject of significant comment and debate, outstripping scientific research and conservation practice. The term rewilding was coined in the mid-1990's by a group of US conservation biologists. They presented rewilding as the scientific strategy, focusing on securing and connecting large areas and releasing functional species such as wolves. Soon, the term rewilding has been associated with conservation initiatives that explicitly seek to restore missing or dysfunctional ecosystem processes, often trough the reintroduction of “functional” species. Projects and research are found the world over, with concentrations in Europe and North America. A common aim is to maintain, or increase, biodiversity, while reducing the impact of present and past human interventions through the restoration of species and ecological processes. Rewilding Velebit project is implemented on the Velebit mountain in Croatia since 2011, in close cooperation and under partnership with RewildingEurope. Main activities are boosting and protection of the original natural processes, like natural forest regeneration and natural grazing. Within the key rewilding cores and their linkage to reduce the fragmentation of the habitat, with the ultimate goal of achieving the state of the ecosystem in which passive management is sufficient and human involvement minimized, while maintaining optimal functionality of ecosystems and biodiversity.

Alohtone vrste ili podvrste su one koje se pojavljuju izvan njihovog prirodnog područja rasprostranjenosti i mogućnosti širenja kao posljedica namjernog ili slučajnog unošenja od strane čovjeka. Alohtone vrste se smatraju invazivnim kada postanu učestale u ekosustavu u kojem do tada nisu obitavale, a pritom su uzrok promjene i prijetnja izvornoj biološkoj raznolikosti. U Europi trenutno obitava dvadeset i jedna vrsta divljih parnoprstaša od kojih je deset vrsta alohtono. Četiri europske autohtone vrste parnoprstaša unešene su na područje država u kojima do tada nisu obitavale. Rusija je vodeća država po broju alohtonih vrsta divljih parnoprstaša (sedam vrsta), druga je Njemačka (šest vrsta), dok su Hrvatska, Češka i Velika Britanija na trećem mjestu sa po pet unešenih alohtonih vrsta divljih parnoprstaša. Alohtone vrste divljih parnoprstaša su u Europi prisutne na području trideset i dvije države iz čega proizlazi da predstavljaju potencijalni globalni problem za autohtone ekosustave. U određenim područjima evidentan je njihov negativan utjecaj na vegetaciju i stanište. Nadalje, alohtoni divlji parnoprstaša prijetnja su onim autohtonim zbog međuvrsne kompeticije (prostorno i prehrambeno preklapanje, povećanje populacije alohtonih na štetu autohtonih itd.) i moguće hibridizacije koja može imati snažan utjecaj na genetsku strukturu ali i konzervacijski status autohtonih populacija.

Vatreno oružje je svako prijenosno cijevno oružje koje ispaljuje, služi za ispaljivanje ili se može lako prepraviti za ispaljivanje sačme, zrna ili nekog drugog projektila djelovanjem potisnog punjenja. Sigurna i pravilna uporaba vatrenog oružja u lovu ovisi o svjesnosti osobe, o potrebi pridržavanja pravila sigurnosti, o stupnju znanja i vještine korisnika koje se odnose na sigurno rukovanje vatrenim oružjem te naposljetku o njegovoj odgovornosti u dosljednom pridržavanju samih pravila sigurnosti. Za lovca početnika je važnije usvojiti pravila sigurnog rukovanja vatrenim oružjem, negoli vještinu preciznog gađanja. Usvajanje pravila sigurnosti jedna od glavnih i trajnih zadaća svih oblika izobrazbe vatrenim oružjem.

Iz triju lovišta u Istarskoj županiji: XVIII/101 „Buje“, XVIII/118 „Pazin“ i XVIII/117 „Motovun, prikupljene su 43 donje čeljusti srne obične. Na uzorcima je izmjerena visina krune prvog donjeg kutnjaka (M1), a potom je dob svake jedinke određena prema broju godišnjih naslaga zubnog cementa. Rezultati su uspoređeni, uz osvrt na stanišnu strukturu, vegetacijske značajke te dob jedinki, između istraživanih lovišta u Istarskoj županiji s rezultatima prethodnih istraživanja u lovištima Bjelovarsko - bilogorske, Karlovačke i Zagrebačke županije. Vrijednosti visine zubnih kruna u srne obične, dobi od dvije, tri i šest godina, iz istraživanih lovišta u Istarskoj županiji u manjoj mjeri variraju u usporedbi s vrijednostima utvrđenim u lovištima triju županija kontinentalne Hrvatske.

Rad opisuje načine i mogućnosti bavljenja lovom i načine upravljanja populacijama divljih životinja u američkoj saveznoj državi Montani.

Kuna bjelica (Martes foina) stanovnik je gotovo svih lovišta u Republici Hrvatskoj sa brojnom i stabilnom populacijom. Ovim istraživanjem bila su obuhvaćena tri lovišta sjeverozapadne Hrvatske. Ukupno je sakupljeno 26 lubanja kune bjelice u razdoblju od pet godina (2010. - 2015.). Svakoj jedinki određen je spol i masa. Na lubanjama je izmjereno 16 kraniometrijskih mjera pomičnom mjerkom koje su zatim statistički obrađene u programu IBM SPSS Statistics. Iz dobivenih rezultata zaključili smo kako je spolni dimorfizam kod kuna slabo izražen te da je vrlo teško odrediti spol kuna samo temeljem lubanje. Lubanje mužjaka nešto su veće od lubanja ženki, a isto je i s masom jedinki. Za točnije razlikovanje spolova temeljem kraniometrijskih izmjera nužno je najprije odrediti dob kune. Statistički značajne razlike između mužjaka i ženki vidljive su iz slijedećih mjera: visina lubanje iza M1, ukupna dužina lubanje, kondilobazalna dužina, dužina moždane duplje i udaljenost između gornjih P4. Kraniometrijske mjere kuna bjelica iz sjeverozapadne Hrvatske su veće od kraniometrijskih mjera kuna u ostatku Europe, izuzev Alpske i Uralske populacije.

Prikazana je usporedba istrošenosti zubi srne obične (Capreolus capreolus) iz triju lovišta s različitom strukturom staništa. Osnovni kriterij različitosti staništa je sastav vegetacije koja čini primarni izvor hrane za srneću divljač. Analiza je urađena na uzorku od 132 vilice srneće divljači. Za svaku jedinku izmjerene su visine zubnih kruna, a dob je određena prema broju godišnjih naslaga zubnog cementa na uzdužnim presjecima prvog donjeg kutnjaka (M1). Rezultati pokazuju podjednaku istrošenost zubi u istim dobnim skupinama bez obzira na stanišni tip, odnosno vegetaciju u lovištu.

Divokoza je kao statusom regionalno izumrle vrste, te svojim od čovjeka izoliranim načinom života predmet brojnih znanstvenih istraživanja i literarnih dijela. Velika razgranatost i rasprostranjenost vrste Rupicapra rupicapra povlači pitanja njezinog nastanka i genetskih karakteristika. Životinja je malih zahtijeva po pitanju hrane te izuzetno izbirljiva po pitanju mira u staništu. Upravo to čini ovaj rad zanimljivim, koji pregledom dostupne literature određuje utjecaj različitih abiotičkih i biotičkih čimbenika na populaciju divokoze u njezinom širokom životnom arealu, sa posebnim osvrtom na naša područja. Konkretnije na područje Velebita, kao potencijalno iskoristivo područje za gospodarenje većim brojem divokozje divljači te na samu zaštitu i prilagodbu staništa ovoj jedinstvenoj vrsti.

Istraživanje je provedeno u državnom otvorenom lovištu III/29 Prolom kojim gospodari Agronomski fakultet. Ukupno pet senzornih IC kamera postavljeno je na različite lokacije u razdoblju od 36 dana, te je ukupno snimljeno 6.578 JPEG fotografija. Daljnjom obradom definiran je CPUE, koji iznosi 85, 88 za divlju svinju i 21, 64 za srnu običnu. Procijenjena veličina populacije za divlju svinju na uzorkovanom području (4, 8 km2) iznosi 71 grlo, a za srnu običnu 12 grla. Gustoća populacije je 16.38 jedinki/km2 za divlju svinju i 2.64 jedinki/km2 za srnu običnu. Rezultati senzornih IC kamera mogu se smatrati valjanima, te uz pravilno korištenje mogu pomoći u kvalitetnijem gospodarenju i zaštiti divljači.

Radi izuzetno naglog širenja Europom i svijetom babuška (Carassius gibelio) je postala predmetom intenzivnijeg istraživanja ihtiologa. Babuška je riblja vrsta koja dobro podnosi nisku razinu kisika u vodi, visoku zagađenost i višu temperaturu vode. Njena važna biološka osobina je i mogućnost razmnožavanja ginogenezom. Babuška je na našim šaranskim ribnjacima kompetitivna s šaranom, gdje izravnim smanjenjem njegovog prirasta uzrokuje značajne ekonomske štete proizvođačima. U otvorenim vodama se dobro adaptirala te često dominira u ulovu sportskih ribića i gospodarskih ribara. U radu je prikazano kretanje populacije babuške u Republici Hrvatskoj, te sadašnje stanje populacije.

Divokoza (Rupicapra rupicapra L.) sa području Parka prirode Biokovo spada u najbrojniju i najstabilniju populaciji divokoza u Hrvatskoj. Reintroducirana je 1964. godine, a danas se brojnost populacije procjenjuje na 350 do 400 jedinki. Procjena brojnog stanja populacije vrlo je važna a ponekad i vrlo skupa, jer su životinje rasprostranjene diljem staništa. Stoga je upotrebom senzornih kamera cilj bio procijeniti gustoću populacije i strukturu populacije divokoza na području planine Biokovo. Istraživanje je provedeno u ljetnom razdoblju 2011. godine, sa tri senzorne kamere na tri različita lokaliteta. Kamere su ukupno zabilježile 1.003 JPEG fotografija. Tijekom praćenja zabilježili smo 72 različite jedinke divokoza, od kojih je 46 ženskih te 26 muških jedinki. Dnevna dinamika dolaženja bila je najveća u dva perioda, ujutro između 06:00 i 08:00, te predvečer između 18:00 i 20:00 sati. Rezultati senzornih kamera mogu se smatrati valjanima, te predstavljaju iznimno tehničko pomagalo za što bolje i kvalitetnije gospodarenje i zaštitu životinjskih vrsta jer daju podatke o strukturi populacije.