השפעת מטיילים על פעילות חיות בר בשביל ההֵיתר הראשון בארץ: [מתוך המדור: חזית המחקר]

Hiking is an extremely popular form of recreational activity in Israel. While such recreational activities play a crucial role in nature conservation, they can also have negative impacts on wildlife. The key to developing sustainable hiking practices is using appropriate management strategies. In 2021 the first Israeli permit trail was opened in the Negev region to manage the frequency and quantity of hikers on the trail. In order to assess the influence of the numbers and frequency of hikers on the activity of local species, we placed seven camera traps along a two km segment of the trail. We found a significant decrease in the presence of the Asian wild ass (Equus hemionus) and the Dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas) on days following hiking activity, while the cape hare (Lepus capensis) and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) were unaffected. The number of hikers did not impact any of the observed species. Our findings suggest that limiting hiking frequency may be a better management strategy than restricting the number of hikers, at least for trails of low hiking intensity such as this. Our study provides valuable insights for the development of management practices aimed at minimizing the impacts recreational activities on wildlife.