Gestión de la sarna sarcóptica en cabra montés (Capra pyrenaica) en el Parque Nacional y Parque Natural de Sierra Nevada

La cabra montés es una especie endémica de la Península Ibérica. La población de Sierra Nevada es de las mas numerosas y la que presenta mayor diversidad genética de toda su área de distribución. Sus efectivos poblacionales tienen a crecer, aunque presentan oscilaciones, relacionadas con distintos factores ambientales, incluyendo patógenos y/o parásitos como el Sarcoptes scabiei, agente de la sarna sarcóptica, su principal enfermedad, que es de carácter zoonótico.

Se ha estudiado la incidencia de la sarna sarcóptica en las cabras monteses de Sierra Nevada a lo largo de los últimos 30 años, comparándola con la población de la Sierra de Cazorla, donde la sarna produjo una mortalidad superior al 90 % a finales de los años 80 del siglo XX. Los resultados han permitido mejorar los anteriores procedimientos de manejo de esta especie.

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