Large carnivore distribution maps for Europe 2017 – 2022/23

Large carnivores have made a remarkable comeback in Europe during the last half century, and recovery is still ongoing in large parts of the continent (Andrén 2018; Boitani 2018; Boitani et al. 2022; Chapron et al. 2014; Huber 2018; Ranc 2018; von Arx 2020). While this expansion can be celebrated as a huge conservation success, it also creates considerable challenges for coexistence in the multi-use landscapes of Europe (Linnell 2013).
Having a common understanding of the distribution, size and trends of large carnivore populations in Europe is one prerequisite for a knowledge-based dialogue in the often heated and highly politicized discussions about future scenarios of large carnivore conservation and management in Europe. Because of the scale at which large carnivores utilize the landscape it is essential to conduct periodic continental scale assessments of their status transcending sub-national and national borders. Assessments at this scale require harmonising diverse datasets that..., 2.1. Distribution mapping methods
The mapping approach generally follows the methods described in (Chapron et al. 2014) and (Kaczensky et al. 2013). It updates the published Species Online Layers 2012-2016 for brown bear, Eurasian lynx, wolf, golden jackal, and wolverine (Kaczensky et al. 2021; Ranc et al. 2022) for the period 2017-2022/23. Large carnivore presence was mapped at a 10 x 10 km (ETRS89-LAEA Europe) grid scale. This grid is widely used for Habitat Directive reporting to the European Union (EU) and can be downloaded at: http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/eea-reference-grids-2. The map encompasses the continental EU countries plus Switzerland and Norway, and the EU candidate / potential candidate countries in the Balkan region, in addition to Ukraine and Turkey. For the two latter countries, only parts were included; for Ukraine only the Carpathian region (for this report Ukraine was artificially cut off and the straight line in the east does not represent the nation..., , # Large carnivore distribution maps for Europe 2017 – 2022/23

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3xsj3txrc](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3xsj3txrc)

## Description of the data and file structure

The mapping approach generally follows the methods described in (Chapron et al. 2014) and (Kaczensky et al. 2013). It updates the published Species Online Layers 2012-2016 for brown bear, Eurasian lynx, wolf, golden jackal, and wolverine  (Kaczensky et al. 2021; Ranc et al. 2022) for the period 2017-2022/23.

Large carnivore presence was mapped at a 10 x 10 km (ETRS89-LAEA Europe) grid scale. This grid is widely used for Habitat Directive reporting to the European Union (EU) and can be downloaded at: [http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/eea-reference-grids-2](http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/eea-reference-grids-2). The map encompasses the continental EU countries plus Switzerland and Norway, and the EU candidate / potential candidate countries in the Balkan region, in addition ...