Identifying priority areas for restoring large mammal populations in the Caucasus Ecoregion

Large mammals play critical roles in ecosystems, yet their populations are across the globe as a result of habitat loss, overhunting, and human-wildlife conflicts. Some of these threats have lessened considerably in parts of Europe, particularly in mountain regions, and this offers unique opportunities for restoring large mammal populations to ecologically functional levels. However, many species require active conservation planning and management for achieving this goal. We focused on the Caucasus Ecoregion, a global biodiversity hotspot at the crossroads of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, with a variety of large carnivore and herbivore species. The collapse of the Soviet Union i…