Parco delle Serre receives 17 Italian deer to bolster biodiversity

The fourth translocation phase of the ‘Italian deer operation’ has concluded in the Parco Naturale Regionale delle Serre in Calabria. Seventeen specimens, consisting of 11 females and 6 males, were transferred from the Bosco della Mesola State Nature Reserve in Ferrara to the park.

This initiative aims to establish a second stable population of the rare Cervus elaphus italicus subspecies to mitigate risks such as epidemics or environmental changes that could threaten the single original population. The project is funded by the Calabria Region and involves a collaboration between WWF Italia, the University of Siena, the Carabinieri Biodiversity Group, and other regional partners.

The program has shown early success, with 12 births recorded in the Parco delle Serre since the project began in 2023, indicating the new population is successfully adapting to the environment.