Presence of Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) in relation to land cover, livestock and human influence in Portugal
From June 2005 to March 2007, we investigated wolf presence in an area of 1000km² in central northern Portugal by scat surveys along line transects. We aimed at predicting wolf presence by developing a habitat model using land cover classes, livestock density and human influence (e.g. population and road density). We confirmed the presence of three wolf packs by kernel density distribution analysis of scat location data and detected their rendezvous sites by howling simulations. Wolf habitats were characterized by lower human presence and higher densities of livestock.