Aoudads are found in various habitats, from clear forests (avoiding dense forests) to various types of steppes. They tend to occupy rocky and often precipitous areas, from near sea level up to snow-free areas at about 4,167 m (such as the Moroccan Atlas), using sparse tree cover for shade. In Spain, they have reached 1,583 m (Morrón de Sierra Espuña, Murcia, Spain). They might wander far from water sources for long periods of time, even for years, if they manage to find succulent forbs that supply water requirements (see Poilecot 1991). During the day, they take refuge in the steep slopes to avoid human disturbance or predation (Irzagh et al. 2020). This species is a generalist herbivore combining grazing with browsing, although recent analyses of its feeding habits in Spain (Miranda et al. 2012), Croatia (Lazarus et al. 2019), Tunisia (Ben Mimoun and Nouira 2015), Algeria (Bounaceur et al. 2016) and Morocco (Bachiri et al. 2021) show a significant greater consumption of grasses and forbs, pointing towards a behaviour more typical of grazer species, which may have relevant conservation implications for wild pasture lands. They do not show migratory movements, not even small, in relation to food availability, probably due to the high resource availability present in the European mountainous areas where they are present.

The Aoudad formed part of the European fauna during the Early Pleistocene (Moullé et al. 2004), but eventually became extinct. Current free-ranging populations have originated either by induced introductions or accidental escapes from hunting estates. The precise origin, both at the subspecific and geographic level in its native distribution, of the European wild Aoudad populations is unknown.

Croatia
Present in Mount Mosor, in the Split-Dalmatia province (Lazarus et al. 2019). Following Šprem et al. (2020), five individuals were illegally released in the wild in 2002. Current population size is estimated at around 140 individuals (Lazarus et al. 2019). The population is stable but there is an intention on the part of the competent authorities to eradicate it.

France
There is a small Aoudad population inhabiting the Mount Sainte-Victoire in Provence province since 1980 (Cugnasse and Tomeï 2016). They escaped from a hunting estate and were eventually established in the core area of this massif (4,000 ha, 400–1,011 m asl). A series of distance sampling surveys carried out in 2017 estimated a number of individuals between 100 and 200 (95% confidence interval) in open areas of the population’s range. No official eradication programme is underway.

Italy
The Italian Aoudad population seems to be confined in a restricted area of the southern slope of the Beigua Natural Regional Park (Genova and Savona provinces, Liguria), between Mount Rama and Mount Argentea, although some sporadic observations occasionally occur in other nearby areas. We estimate its population size to be around 25 individuals and increasing (Leoncini et al. 2022).

To date, Aoudads are not considered invasive in Italy, and according to some authors, its estimated potential to become so was found to be low (Bertolino et al. 2020). In any case, authorities of the Park and the Liguria Region are preparing an eradication plan that has not yet been instituted.

Spain
Spain hosts the oldest and largest Aoudad introduced population. The species is catalogued as invasive by the Spanish authorities, so that current policies aim for eradication throughout the country (but see Cassinello 2018). We distinguish three population nuclei.

Sierra Espuña Regional Park and surrounding mountain ranges, Murcia province
Spanish authorities promoted the introduction of 36 individuals in the Sierra Espuña Regional Park between 1970 and 1972. Hunting interests and the absence of native ungulates in the area originated this initiative (Cassinello 2000). Twenty years later, the population reached 2,000 individuals. Currently, and despite a devastating sarcoptic mange epidemic that took place in the 1990s and recent eradication initiatives, the Aoudad populations present in mountainous areas of the Murcia province may reach 3,000 individuals (Cassinello, Bartolomé, Eguía, Albanell and San Miguel in prep.).

Sierra María – Los Vélez Natural Park, northern Almeria province
The Aoudad population present in this mountainous area originated with the settlement of wandering individuals from the neighbouring Murcian Mountains in the early 1990s.

La Caldera de Taburiente National Park, La Palma island, Canary Islands
In 1972, the Spanish authorities also introduced a small group of Aoudads (16 individuals) in La Caldera de Taburiente National Park (Cassinello 1998). Despite environmental controversy and unsuccessful eradication attempts, currently, it is estimated a stable population of around 250 individuals (Rodríguez Luengo and Cassinello 2008).

Northern mountains of Alicante province
In the 1990s, a few individuals escaped from a hunting estate in Alicante province, originating a stable population in the northern mountainous areas, that in the early 2000s could reach up to 200 individuals (Cassinello et al. 2004). As of today, and despite the fact that a regular eradication program is being carried out by the regional authorities, around a hundred individuals could remain scattered throughout the area (C. Sapena pers. comm.).

Outside Europe, the Aoudad was widespread in rugged and mountainous terrain from deserts and semi-deserts to open forests in North Africa, but it has suffered a strong decline due to poaching and competition from domestic livestock.

As an alien species in Europe, no conservation actions have been implemented to preserve Aoudad populations. Where successfully introduced, they managed to acquire the required resources to survive and in some cases disperse to nearby suitable areas.