Porcupines in Italian islands: update on the distribution of Hystrix cristata in Sardinia

In the last few decades, the crested porcupine(Hystrix cristata L., 1758) showed a remarkable rangeexpansion in Italy, due to legal protection, climatic changeand antropochorous releases. Particularly, porcupineshave been released also in Sardinia, with first records ofthis large rodent in the wild dating back to 2005. Historicaland social factors related to the progressive urbanizationand the consequent abandonment of the traditional landuse in mountain landscapes probably helped there-expansion of forest, uncultivated fields and of animal'sspecies associated with these habitats. In Sardinia, apopulation establishment and a subsequent expansion ofthe area of distribution can be predicted as large portionsof the island are highly suitable for the crested porcupine.Therefore, this recently introduced population should beremoved to limit potential ecological and social conflicts.