The Nature Conservation Journal

The presence of non-native Sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon) in the wild in the Czech Republic has been tolerated for several decades. Sika deer are attractive game animals, and therefore, the hunters have no interest in reducing their numbers. The undemanding and adaptable Sika deer has taken full advantage of this. In some areas in the Czech Republic, the invasion of Sika deer has reached such proportions that it is almost impossible to find a natural habitat without having been significantly damaged by them. The fact can be well illustrated by examples of long-term monitoring plant species and communities in the Slavkovský les/Slavkov Forest (western Bohemia).