Wild ungulates and livestock coexistence in mountain ecosystems: a case study from the Italian Alps

In this study, we examined whether the presence and density of livestock grazing at high elevations during the summer influences the activity patterns and occurrence of two wild ungulates, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). We relied on data collected from 77 camera traps deployed in two close-by areas in the Italian Alps in July-August 2022 and 2023, following a random systematic design. We computed the diel activity patterns for livestock, roe and red deer, and we estimated the overlap between the obtained curves. Then, we applied Generalized Linear Mixed Models to model the occurrence of red and roe deer in function of live stock presence, density and proximity to an alpine herdsmen’s hut, while controlling for other potential sources of disturbance such as human outdoor activities. Roe and red deer were primarily active at dawn and dusk, while livestock was mostly diurnal, with moderate to high overlap between livestock and the wild ungulates (54.8% for red deer and 63.1% for roe deer). The occurrence of red and roe deer was marginally limited by livestock density, as well as by static (proximity to roads) and dynamic (recreational activity) proxies of human disturbance, while the proximity to the huts did not affect the occurrence of wild ungulates. Our results do not support any important effect of the presence of livestock on the spatial behavior and activity patterns of roe and red deer in the central part of the summer. We discuss future directions of investigation that can provide further insights into our under standing of the coexistence of wildlife and livestock in an Alpine landscape.