First wild boar hybrids , now goats. On Caprera, the environmental emergency is changing face , but not substance: the coexistence of wildlife and humans remains an open challenge for the Maddalena Archipelago National Park . In recent years, culling has drastically reduced a population of hybrids that was becoming "a major problem," explains president Rosanna Giudice .
This intervention, supported by advanced capture and monitoring techniques—cameras, targeted checks, and operations on Isola Madre—has been made necessary by the animals' increasingly trusting relationships with humans, often attracted by food left by tourists. " Feeding them is a crime ," she points out, "because they get used to it and can become dangerous." But the decline in wild boars has had an unexpected effect : the advance of goats toward residential areas. In Stagnali and on the island of Spargi , the animals are crossing roads and even the bridge connecting the two islands, climbing onto rooftops, even car tops—the president states—and low walls.
"Reports from citizens are ongoing, and safety remains the priority," Giudice emphasizes. For now, culling is out of the question. A ministerial directive requires the animals' genetic origins to be determined first. The Park has commissioned Agris, along with the University and the Breeders' Association, to conduct a genome study, an investment of over €52,000. "We need to determine whether they belong to a protected breed. Only then can we decide, possibly on a relocation."
