Conservation d’une population de Mouflon à manchettes (Ammotragus lervia Pallas, 1777) (Mammalia, Bovidae) dans un espace clos : cas de la réserve d’Amassine dans le Haut-Atlas (Parc National du Toubkal, Maroc)

Abstract

Conservation in fenced area of a population of Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia Pallas, 1977) (Mammalia, Bovidae) : the case of Amassine reserve in High Atlas (Toubkal National Park, Morocco). The Amassine reserve, located in the Toubkal National Park (Central High Atlas) and intended for the conservation of the Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), shows signs of imbalance between the population size and the carrying capacity of the environment. The objective of this study is to assess this imbalance according the population size, through the diagnosis of the state of the vegetation and the analysis of their interactions. Since the introduction of 10 individuals in a fenced area of 150 ha in 1999, the animal population has increased to 85 individuals in 2006 with a density of 56.67 Barbary sheep / 100 ha but decreased to 24 in 2015 (16 individuals / 100 ha). The increase in number was accompanied by herbivory pressure over time. An overall global damage rate on vegetation was estimated at 10.98 % in 2015. In addition, the installation of the reserve is poorly tolerated by the human local populations because of its location within their activity space. The present state of the Amassine reserve undermines the objective of conservation and rehabilitation of the animal. The conservation of this animal would have required prior consultation with the local population, a permanent bioecological monitoring and the adoption of a management approach of the reserve allowing a sustainable balance between the animal and the resources of the environment.