Conservation news snapshot October 2003

It has, frankly, been a very quiet summer on the wolf-conservation front. I don't like creating articles out of nothing so here is the news in brief:

In May, eight nations signed a new UN environmental agreement to protect the entire length of the Carpathian mountains. This mountain range runs through the Czech republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia and the Ukraine. The Romanian section is, of course, home to Peyto and Cheza's wild cousins. About 45% of europe's wolves - roughly 4000 - live in the Carpathians which is also home to most of what is left of the European populations of lynx, bear and jackal as well as 200-odd assorted unique plant species. On top of that lot the Carpathians' 200,000 square kilometres also support about 17 million people, most of them living in even worse poverty than they suffered during the reign of communism. The protection of this region secures the massive migratory forest corridors which link the forests of northern Europe to those in the south and west. There is a good article about the treaty on http://www.naturalworldtours.co.uk/articles2003/may/may2403k.htm

Yellowstone: Nothing exciting: A few packs have moved around a bit and raised a few cubs. Numbers are stable and the population is healthy and attracting tourist dollars. Montana has finally produced a wolf management plan which is better than half sane and will soon be in charge of managing its own wolf population.

There has been no further word of the French proposed action against wolves in the Alps. Norway's hunters have relentlessly and illegally all but extinguished the wolf in Norway - mostly by tracking them down by their radio collars. Scientists now favour the so-called GPS collars which store the history of the wolf's movements internally and do not give easily-trackable homing signals. There is now a strong case for thinking that all of Scandinavia's wolves have genetic problems which cause weaknesses in their backs. The lapponia wolf, had it been allowed to live, would have been a valuable addition to the gene pool but the reindeer herders decided that money is more important than wolves.