A survey on the distrib uting factors affecting Wild goat (Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777) in the Lashgardar protected area, Hamedan, Iran

Abstract

The wild goat (Capra aegagrus), belong to Artiodactyla order and Bovidae family, that is listed as vulnerable (A2cde) by IUCN Red list, and dispersal in the most mountainous areas which has adequate security. Unfortunately, during recent years, there was a decrease drastically in its population in the most habitats due to the illegal hunting. In this study, the factors that may affect the distribution of this species have been studied during 2010 to 2011 in the Lashgardar protected area. Different environmental variables such as topography, climate, vegetation cover, and geology along with the presence/absence data in 61 locations were recorded. The analysis was conducted using binary logistic regression. Results showed that slope, altitude, vegetation cover and average annual temperature were the most distressing environmental factors defining the presence of the species in this area. In this regard, the slope had the greatest impact among all other variables due to its relation to other parameters.