Wolves in the carpathians - 2003

Image and perception

Mojmir Vlasin, a zoologist working with the Veronica Ecological Institute in Brno, Moravia, says our fear of wolves is innate and irrational. He goes on to say that our image of bears is much more favourable, even though bears are known to be uncertain, savage animals. Perhaps the reason for this is that we link bears with the cuddly teddies of childhood, whereas wolves have only the negative image of the red riding hood story.

In the Carpathian Mountains, a range that spreads across central Europe and the last great refuge for wolves, fifty five percent of the human population think that wolves living in the wild are dangerous to humans. Clearly this feeling is not based on fact because in the fifty-odd years since 1951only one incident is recorded where a wolf attacked a human in Slovakia, and then only in self-defence. It could even be said that the human population is more dangerous because human hunters kill dozens of people in hunting accidents every year.

Numbers

Officials say that wolves number over 5500 in the region, but zoologists believe that the figure includes a large margin of error due to double counting by hunters. The animals are highly mobile with a hunting area of around 70 sq.km across national borders. The true figure is believed to be under 4000: 2800 in Romania, 400 in the Ukraine, 450 in Slovakia, 250 in Poland and 10-15 in the Czech Republic and Hungary. In all these countries, wolves fight for survival against centuries of prejudice and misunderstanding.

The wolf population has suffered greatly at the hands of bounty hunters. During Ceausescu's reign, in parts of Rumania, a reward equal to a quarter of a month's pay was offered to rangers killing wolf cubs. Full-grown wolves killed by any method at all resulted in as much as a half-month's pay.

Nowadays in Rumania, wolves are, at least, protected by a quota system. Also the Bern Convention, signed by many Central European countries, describes wolves as an endangered species in need of protection, and affords the animals protection in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

In Ukraine the situation is different. The wolf population there was decimated more than ten times between 1951 and 1981, bringing numbers as low as 150. While the population has improved since then, regrettably wolves remain totally unprotected there and can be hunted year-round by permit-holders, resulting in trophies perceived as highly prized, such as skulls and pelts.

The fact that laws relating to wolf hunting change across borders in the region means, for example, that a wolf protected in Czech territory is at risk as soon as it crosses into Ukraine. And poaching is a great problem throughout the region so that even legal protection can be no protection at all.

Prey

Apart from the [false] perception that wolves are a danger to humans, the animals are accused of preying on livestock, thereby causing economic damage. In fact the main prey of the Carpathian wolf is wild boar, red and sometimes roe deer. Accurate figures for livestock taken by wolves don't exist. However, when the occasional sheep or goat is picked off, it's mostly older and weaker animals that are taken. Many cases ascribed to wolves have been proved not to have involved wolves at all - perhaps because in some cases - Slovakia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic, for instance - the state pays compensation for livestock losses attributed to wolves.

Hunting

Shooting wolves may even do more harm than good - it's been suggested that picking off the odd wolf can actually exacerbate 'the problem' by disrupting packs and causing young wolves to have to fend for themselves. Age-old methods of protecting animals by using sheepdogs are now being re-introduced with great success.

Hunters and those who defend the wolf are sharply divided in the Carpathian region. Age-old prejudice means that 'don't knows' - neither for or against hunting - add their passive support to the hunters, who enjoy political clout through their close ties with ministries of agriculture - the very agencies responsible for the protection of nature. For example, in Slovakia the 1994 Law on Protection of Nature and Landscape gave wolves full protection. However hunters lobbied the Slovak Ministries of Agriculture and Environment, who eventually backed down and allowed a two-month open season annually between 1st November to 15th January.

Anti hunters committed to defending wolves have a difficult time of it. In Slovakia, "Vlk" (Wolf), a national organisation, has a number of groups. The Association for Nature Wolf has a 200-strong network In Poland, and "Bezkydcan" is a similar operation in the Czech Republic. the Carpathian Large Carnivore Project studies and protects wolves in Romania as well as bears and lynx.

Habitat

But it's not only hunting that threatens wolves. Globalisation and the free market system mean that new roads, urban growth and forestry constantly erode the wolf's habitat. Mountain areas, once retreat areas, are now more easily accessed. The number of cars has multiplied and weekend and holiday homes are being established with foreign money. This situation hits the wolf twice. Firstly, it has no habitat in which to roam free, and secondly the very lack of habitat encourages it to engage in 'anti-social behaviour' and pick off sheep, strengthening the hand of the hunters.

Environment

Wolves have been designated a 'flagship' species by nature conservationists, demonstrating the health of the environment. Three years ago the International Union of Game Biologists met to face the challenge with a five-year project. They agreed that in order to develop a conservation strategy it was important to find out exact numbers of wolves in the Carpathians, the population density, structure, size and survival of packs, and the influence of hunting and mortality causes.

These facts had never before been gathered scientifically. The only figures previously available had been gathered by hunters, who had a vested interest in reporting increasing numbers, thus promoting their position and negating the reason for wolf protection.

Their study area currently covers 1200 forested square miles at between 2500 and 6500 feet above sea level. In the summer shepherds, berry and mushroom pickers and loggers work in the mountains. In the winter months some areas remain completely undisturbed allowing 15 - 20 wolf packs to be identified, although many of the packs were small with just two to four wolves, which could be an indication of a suppressed population. In 1994 the first wolf was fitted with a radio collar to take part in a scientific project.

Is there a future for wolves?

Is there a future for any wild animal on this over-populated planet? Many projects, such as the Anglian Wolf Society based in Bedfordshire, England, are now encouraging a new attitude towards wolves, by introducing groups of people to hand-reared, socialised animals. Hopefully once people realise that their fears are groundless, pressure groups will force a re-appraisal of how we feel about wolves so that man and wolf can live along side each other in relative safety.