Expert Opinions
Independent experts on ungulates, zoology, paleoecology, island fauna, and livestock biodiversity contribute their knowledge, experience, and expertise, offering their opinions and analysis of the park authority's project.
Prof. Marco Masseti
Zoologist, Paleo-Ecologist & Insular Fauna Expert
Former professor and researcher at the Department of Biology of the University of Florence, Marco Masseti is specialized in the study of the relationships that have developed between humans and animals during human civilization, anthropocore zoological species and fauna of anthropogenic environments. A preponderant aspect of his studies is addressed to mammals and their population of insular environments. For this reason he has carried out research and participated in several scientific missions in Italy and abroad: from the Galapagos Islands to East Africa and Indonesia.
His research has focused in particular on the Near East and the Mediterranean, especially the islands. He has been professor at the Department of Biology of the Universities of Palermo and Messina and, until the end of 2019, member of the Scientific Council of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. He is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (I.U.C.N.) Deer Specialist Group, and of the Group of Experts on Invasive Alien Species of the Council of Europe, as well as of the I.U.C.N. Global Mammal Assessment Southwest Asia and I.U.C.N. Mediterranean Mammals Red List committees. He is fellow of the Linnean Society of London and associate editor of the journals Anthropozoologica of the Museum of Natural History of Paris and Proceedings of the Italian Natural Sciences and the Museum of Natural History of Milan. He has to his credit about 240 publications in international scientific journals, as well as numerous popular contributions. Among his books: Uomini e (non solo) rati (2002, Firenze University Press, Florence; 2nd edition 2008); Island of deer (2002, Environment Organization of the city of Rhodes, Greece); Fauna toscana (2003, ARSIA-Regione Toscana, Florence); Atlas of terrestrial mammals of the Ionian and Aegean islands (2012, De Gruyter, Berlin); The farm of Lorenzo the Magnificent (2015, Municipalities of Poggio a Caiano and Prato), and Zoology of Arab and Norman Sicily (2016, Danaus Editions, Palermo). Among the various research conducted in the Tuscan archipelago, he has particularly studied the marten, Martes martes L., 1758, of the island of Elba and the Montecristo wild goat, Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777.
Professor Marco Masseti, Zoologist, Paleo-Ecologist & Insular Fauna Expert
"Any intervention of environmental requalification of Mediterranean islands is very difficult, if not impossible in many cases, since the original biological elements have been permanently lost for many millennia.
Any action of recovery and/or philological restoration of these natural environments must take this into account, considering above all that many of the organisms that have been introduced in past ages interact with the elements of the island biocoenosis, in some cases even for millennia, and have now become an integral part of it."
Prof. Marco Masseti
Zoologist & Paleo-Ecologist, Island Fauna Expert
Articles written by Prof. Marco Masseti regarding the project 'LetsGo Giglio':
Selected Publications del Prof. Marco Masseti:
Prof. Franco Tassi
International Park Center
Born in Rome, he studied here and graduated in Law, working subsequently with various Public Administrations in Italy and abroad, winning several competitions for the Inspectorate of Finance, the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic and the Magistracy. Naturalist by vocation, he specializes in ecology, carrying out research and publishing numerous works, books and popular scientific studies. Franco Tassi, Head of the National Parks Committee that won the epic "10% challenge" to protect at least one tenth of the "Bel Paese", and Director of the Centro Studi Ecologici Appenninici, has worked for 33 years "on the Front of Nature" as Director Superintendent of the oldest, most important and famous Protected Area in Italy, the Abruzzo National Park.
Due to his wide and interdisciplinary expertise, he has worked in Brussels as an expert at the European Representation, in the US he realized the Alliance with Yellowstone National Park, he has been part of Scientific Commissions of IUCN (World Union for Nature), and in 2014 he was invited by the Council of Europe as a rapporteur to the European Landscape Convention. As a freelance journalist, he continues to publish popular science articles in Italian and foreign periodicals.
Prof. Franco Tassi, International Park Center
"The Park Center has received and spreads, to the media and to the public attention, some disturbing reports received from local Environmental Groups about what is happening for a long time in various Small Italian Islands, and in particular in the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, using huge European LIFE funds for the eradication of rats, with the disastrous effect of causing the poisoning of the terrestrial and marine Fauna, the destruction of Biodiversity and the disappearance of the characteristic wild Goat of Montecristo. At the same time, the extermination of Mouflons with firearms is about to begin on the Island of Giglio, in spite of the vibrant protests of the local community, which is absolutely opposed to these massacres. It seems ascertained that a large group of specially trained hunters is now waiting for the green light to shoot in the heart of the National Park. On the contrary, on many Mediterranean Islands, Mouflons and wild goats are now part of the ecosystem and are protected, also as essential elements of that precious "Living Landscape" which is protected by the European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe, presented in Florence on October 20th, 2000, and then ratified by Italy.
It seems therefore evident that it is necessary to intervene promptly to stop the senseless and cruel killings of mouflons: if in some islands the Ungulates were really too numerous, it would certainly not be difficult to capture them, and transfer them elsewhere."
Prof. Franco Tassi
International Park Center
Articles written by Prof. Franco Tassi regarding the project 'LetsGo Giglio':
Selected Pubblicazioni del Prof. Franco Tassi:
Dr. Franco Perco
Former Director of Monti Sibillini National Park & Ungulate Expert
Dr. Franco Perco has a degree in law and in natural sciences. Thanks to his preparation and to the activities carried out, he has acquired a considerable experience in the management of protected areas, in particular with regard to the relationships with local populations. He has worked in the field of environmental conservation, wildlife management (including hunting management) and Ungulate biology, as a freelance in the field of wildlife planning.
He has been involved at project and executive level in wildlife management in general and has drawn up projects of reintroduction and alternative zootechnics with Ungulates, of Wildlife Parks, of museum exhibition and of general and specific wildlife management (especially of Ungulates).
In addition to other technical, scientific and popular publications, he is author and/or co-author of eleven monographs, in particular on Ungulates, Roe Deer (three), Deer and Mouflon and on the fruition of Nature, also and above all for educational purposes and as an opportunity to improve the sensitivity towards Nature and Fauna.
Dr. Franco Perco, Former Director of Monti Sibillini National Park
"The Mouflon is a visible, well-proportioned and very shrewd species that, in addition to this, possesses and highlights conspicuous and complex behaviors. In this sense, it can be defined as a "highly educating" species, as its observation can lead to an improvement of the sensitivity towards Nature and Fauna. I believe that this is an important opportunity for a National Park and not only, not to be wasted but instead to be enhanced with real schools of ethology outdoors.
Besides, if we wanted to follow the thesis of "purity" at all costs, we could also talk about the necessity of eradicating the Montecristo goat, from the island of the same name, an acclimatized and wild species which is the result of several introductions of domestic goats, with their multicolored coats, still partly visible today.
I am happy to support the idea of conserving a small nucleus of mouflons on the island of Giglio. Even though it is an allochthonous species, this species possesses remarkable abilities to form a high standard of environmental sensitivity. It is observable and conspicuous, with complex behaviors. Certainly, it is an animal to be managed and contained. But these are not impossible tasks. Eradication or removal will produce losses to the wildlife quality of the island. It would be a shame if that comes to fruition."
Dr. Franco Perco
Former Director of Monti Sibillini
National Park
Book about the Mouflon written by Dr. Franco Perco:
Dr. Alessio Zanon
Veterinary Physician & Expert in Zootechnical Biodiversity
Veterinarian, PhD in Animal Production and Veterinary Biotechnology, Alessio Zanon works predominantly in the field of animal husbandry: he manages cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, wild native ungulates and poultry in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Ferrara, Como and Milan.
He is passionate about rare, autochthonous and endangered breeds, quickly becoming a valuable reference point at national level. He is a breed expert, consultant and advisor to numerous associations, bodies and organizations for the conservation and protection of native breeds; author of prestigious publications; he takes care of the zootechnical sector for Equa, helping breeders in the choice, selection and management of production animals.
The consolidated experience and a wide network of connections between breeders allow him to access a rich database of subjects, unique in Italy for quantity and variety.
Dr. Alessio Zanon, Veterinary Physician & Expert in Zootechnical Biodiversity
"Prof. Alessandro Ghigi, father of naturalistic conservationism and of the institution of National Parks in Italy, identified in the Island of Giglio the ideal environment for the recovery of the rare and threatened species of the European Mouflon (Ovis aries musimon; Ovis musimon Pallas, 1762). Moreover, this species is still included among the vulnerable ones.
A serious problem, concerning this species, is the constant threat of genetic contamination by domestic sheep, usually present in many areas where it is widespread. The Island of Giglio still represents a reservoir of genetic diversity too important to be sacrificed in the face of alleged damage not sufficiently supported and studied".
Dr. Alessio Zanon
Veterinary Physician & Expert in Zootechnical Biodiversity
Dr. Barbara Wilkens
Archaeozoologist
Dr. Wilkens graduated from the University of Pisa in 1982 with the thesis "The Bronze Age village of Mursia (Pantelleria)," and received her Ph.D. in Archaeology in the year 1987 with a thesis entitled: "The Transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic through the study of the faunas of some sites in central-southern Italy."
In 1984 she attended a course in Osteometry at the Centre de Recherches archéologiques in Sophia Antipolis, Valbonne, France, under Dr. Jean Desse. At the same center in 1985 she attended a course taught by Dr. Jean Desse for the study of ichthyofauna from archaeological sites. Beginning in 1981, on behalf of the Tuscan Society of Natural Sciences and the municipality of Lucca, she was responsible for several years for the setting up of the Museum of Natural History of the Liceo Machiavelli Lucca, taking care of the revision of the catalog and the display of the malacological collection, one of the most important in Italy.
In 1991 she was appointed by the Archaeological Superintendence of Liguria to curate the display and showcases of faunal remains in the new Balzi Rossi Museum in Ventimiglia. She is interested in the study of Holocene faunal remains in the Mediterranean area and the Near East and specializes in the study of mammals, fish and mollusks from archaeological excavations. For several years she has also been studying faunal remains from Tell Afis (Syria), as well as remains from other sites in Syria, the Arabian Peninsula, Greece, the Italian Peninsula, and Sardinia and Sicily.
Dr. Wilkens is a founding member of the Italian Association of Archaeozoology (AIAZ) and a member of the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ). In 1993 she won a competition for a researcher position at the University of Sassari, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Institute of Antiquities, Art and Ethnodemological Disciplines. From the same year she began working on faunal materials from most archaeological sites in Sardinia, which have been the subject of several publications. She taught courses in Prehistoric Ecology, Paleoecology and Archaeozoology in Sassari and Oristano for several years. In Oristano she also taught courses in Anthropology and Paleontology out of teaching necessity.
Since November 1, 1997 she transferred to the Department of History, since January 1, 2012 to the Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, and since November 1, 2017 to Veterinary Medicine at the University of Sassari. In October 2017, she organized the 19th Fish Remains Working Group Meeting, which was held in Alghero, Italy for the first time. In 2013, she qualified as an associate professor, but this did not lead to career consequences and she retired in 2018. She currently works as an independent researcher in Alghero on materials from Sardinia (Tertenia and Porto Torres) and Orvieto.
Dr. Barbara Wilkens, Archaeozoologist
"Mouflons have given rise to all present-day sheep and have accompanied our civilization from the ancient Neolithic to the present, that is, for about 8,000 years in our territories and even longer in their Near Eastern homelands. In the past they were loved as a symbol of wilderness and were often moved to parks for all to admire and also to save them from possible extinction.
Now in some localities their survival is endangered as an alien species. What is meant by an alien species? How long must pass after its arrival for a species to no longer be considered alien? If it has settled well into the environment, is 8,000 years enough? Or 2,000? 500? or 100, or 50? Do we want to recreate a false end-of-glaciation environment? That environment no longer exists; there has been human history and the history of the different animal species that humans have brought with them. History has moved on and we should not deny it.
This is particularly evident in the islands. In Sardinia for example, wild mammals with the exclusion of bats, are all alien species if we consider being alien to have been introduced by humans. To remove them all Sardinia would be a rock populated by birds."
Dr. Barbara Wilkens
Archaeozoologist
Article Written by Dr. Barbara Wilkens Reguarding the 'LetsGo Giglio' project: