Reintroduction of giant carnivores in Europe

The goal of bachelors thesis on the topic of Reintroduction of Large Carnivores in Europe is to describe current situation in the Czech Republic and other European countries in the matter of occurrence of such animals in comparison to their population in the past. These lands are home to large carnivores such as Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx), Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) and Brown Bear (Ursus arctos). Furthermore, it is focused on the influence of human activity on the areas of migration of large carnivores. It contains description of the environment and the major causes of reduction in numbers, mentioning the possibilities of protection of their population and options for their return in to wilderness. The thesis includes current success rate of the reintroduction and future goals of the reintroduction programs in the Czech Republic and neighboring European countries. Next chapter explains the problematic landscape fragmentation and highlights the importance of preservation of the landscape connectivity, mainly its penetrability. Both topics are crucial factors in conservation and sustainability of large carnivore populations. Moreover, it defines locations of the most important migratory corridors in the Czech Republic and their connection to the neighboring states. Procedure to locate these corridors leads to a description of possible biomonitoring methods of the mentioned species based on the occurrence of their footprints, excrements, territory markings and prey remains. Lastly, the thesis describes the creation of habitat models of large carnivores together with step-by-step instructions. Habitat models serve to determine locations suitable for permanent or temporary residence of examined species, consequently making the selection of the acceptable areas for their reintroduction easier. Resulting models for Czech Republic and neighboring countries can be found in the appendix