Wildlife-vehicle collisions in Spain

Abstract

Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) are important in wildlife management due to their increasing socioeconomic impacts and pervasive effect on some endangered species. In this study, we depict the involved species and evaluate the geographic distribution and economic cost of this human-animal interaction in Spain. We used unpublished information on 74,600 WVC reported by police statements from 2006 to 2012. These collisions accounted for 8.9 % of all reported road traffic accidents in the country. They were unevenly distributed, with WVC accounting for 30–50 % of all road traffic accidents in some mountainous provinces in the north. Results show that wild boar (Sus scrofa) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), two abundant free-ranging ungulates (O. Artiodactyla) whose populations have expanded throughout Spain during the last few decades, were involved in 79 % of WVC. These species were responsible for most economic losses and, in the case of the wild boar, for most human injuries. The number of vehicle collisions involving large carnivores (O. Carnivora) was small, with the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) present in most cases (70 %). They included some endangered species (brown bear, Ursus arctos, and Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus). The results provide a reliable picture of WVC in Spain and provide the first assessment of the economic cost of this wildlife-human interaction (105 million € yearly).