REVIVING THE ALPINE IBEX: ADDRESSING GENETIC AND HEALTH CONCERNS OF SLOVENIAN IBEX WITH BROADER IMPLICATIONS IN BIODIVERSITY

Abstract

This issue’s cover illustration depicting the Alpine ibex against the backdrop of iconic Slovenia's Triglav mountain is inspired by the manuscript by Bužan et al. and serves as a poignant reminder of a lost legacy and biodiversity due to greed and overhunting. These magnificent creatures thrived entire European Alpine region before their extermination in the 19th century, with the only surviving wild population of Alpine ibex in the Gran Paradiso National Park (then a royal hunting reserve) in Italy. Reintroduction initiatives from this small population have since rebounded ibex to tens of thousands across the Alpine region. However, as the article on the Slovenian population of Alpine ibex by Bužan et al. in this issue clearly shows, while current numbers seem more promising, the genetic bottleneck they experienced from this near-extinction event has left lasting impacts on their genetic diversity. REŠEVANJE ALPSKEGA KOZOROGA: GENETSKI IN ZDRAVSTVENI PROBLEMI SLOVENSKIH KOZOROGOV S ŠIRŠIMI POSLEDICAMI ZA BIODIVERZITETO Ilustracija na naslovnici te številke, ki prikazuje alpskega kozoroga pred ikonično Triglavsko goro Slovenije, je navdihnjena po članku Bužan s sod., objavljenem v tej številki, in služi kot opomin izgubljeni dediščini in biodiverziteti zaradi pohlepa in prekomernega lova. Te veličastne živali so uspevale v celotni evropski Alpski regiji, preden so bile iztrebljene v 19. stoletju, z edino preživelo divjo populacijo v Narodnem parku Gran Paradiso (takrat kraljevi lovski rezervat) v Italiji. Ponovne naselitve iz te majhne populacije so od takrat od danes dvignile število kozorogov na deset tisoče v celotni Alpski regiji. Vendar, kot članek o slovenski populaciji alpskih kozorogov avtorice Bužan s sod. jasno kaže, čeprav se trenutna številka zdi obetavna, pa je genetsko ozko grlo, nastalo zaradi prekomernega lova, pustilo trajne posledice na njihovi genetski raznolikosti.