Conservation
Carabus olympiae © Mauro Paschetta
Carabus olympiae is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species as vulnerable.
The species is also listed on annex II of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) and as a priority species on annexes II and IV of the EC Habitats Directive.
Recently efforts were made to introduce the species into the French Alps in order to extend its distribution and reduce the threat of local extinction. However these introductions appear to have failed.
Conservation of the species will rely on protecting its native habitat - forests and rhododendrons - on the sites where it is known to occur. Surveys of neighbouring areas may also pinpoint previously undiscovered populations.
Education and protection of the species will also hopefully ensure its survival.
The greatest current threat to Carabus olympiae’s habitat is the possible expansion of ski pistes and ski lifts, which already cover a portion of the species’ tiny distribution area.
