Traditional land use practices declined throughout many of Europe's rural landscapes during the 20th century. Rewilding (i.e. restoring ecosystem functioning with minimal human intervention) is being pursued in many areas, and restocking or reintroduction of key species is often part of the rewilding strategy. Such programmes require ecological information about the target areas but this is not always available. Using the example of the Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica within the Rewilding Europe framework we address the following questions: (1) Are there areas in Western Iberia that are environmentally favourable for reintroduction of the species? (2) If so, are these areas well connected with each other? (3) Which of these areas favour the establishment and expansion of a viable population of Iberian ibex in a reintroduction programme? We modelled environmental favourableness for the species in the Iberian Peninsula using a logistic regression with a forward–backward stepwise procedure, and assessed landscape connectivity using a graph analytical approach after downscaling the model to the Western Iberia region. Our results indicate that several habitat patches in the study area present favourable environmental conditions for reintroduction of the Iberian ibex. Overall, most of the habitat connectivity was concentrated in northern and central patches. We highlight the potential and practical application of the analytical protocol used, for successful integration of species distribution modelling and landscape connectivity in the design of broad-scale reintroduction and recovery programmes.

The ibex Capra pyrenaica has recently recolonized its former Portuguese range from a contiguous Spanish protected area. The first observations of ibex in Portugal were in Peneda-Gerês National Park in 1998. In 2001 we began a survey to confirm ibex presence in Portuguese territory, and to determine the current status of the species there. There are three ibex nuclei in the general area of the international border, and they are expanding their geographical range with two of the nuclei almost restricted to Portuguese territory. In 2003 the ibex population consisted of a minimum of 75 individuals. Different founder histories have led to distinct age structures in each nucleus, but in general they exhibit the population dynamics typical of a recently reintroduced population with high reproductive potential. Priority conservation actions for this newly established population need to include increased monitoring, and reinforcement of the population with individuals from elsewhere. Effective conservation will require collaboration between staff of both Portuguese and Spanish protected areas and an integrated Spanish-Portuguese conservation plan.