New highways and maintenance of large carnivore habitat continuity – a Croatian experience

Brown bears (Ursus arctos), grey wolves (Canis lupus) and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) inhabiting the Dinara Mountains of Croatia belong to the large and stable population of these large carnivores nearest to the Alps. Together with the neighboring Slovenian population segment, they comprise the source for recolonization of the Alps and much of Western Europe, either through natural migrations or transplanting of captured animals. The new highway has been constructed through the main portion of the large carnivore's core area in Gorski kotar during the period from 1996 to 2004. The current large carnivore range in Croatia was intersected with a fenced highway, possibly splitting the Dinaric mo…