The EU-funded LIFE EuroLargeCarnivores Project has launched a Europe-wide video campaign that features testimonials from people sharing the landscape with large carnivores. The videos demonstrate how people from all over the continent have found ways to coexist with bears, wolves, lynxes and wolverines.

According to official estimates, there are currently around 17,000 wolves, 17,000 bears, 9,000 lynx and 1,250 wolverines living in Europe (not including Russia).

Where people and large carnivores share the same landscapes, conflicts may arise.

“Coexistence between people and large carnivores is possible if people are open to learning from each other and try to adapt to the situation. The video testimonials demonstrate how people from all over the continent have found ways to coexist,” says Gavril Marius Berchi, Large Carnivore Conservation Project Manager, WWF-Romania.

People sharing their experiences in the videos range from farmers and sheep herders that have found ways to protect their livestock, to ecotourism operators and ordinary people from rural communities that accept and appreciate the presence of large carnivores.

“The situations and reactions of local communities living with large carnivores are very divergent across Europe. That’s why the videos do not preach one-size-fits-all answers. We hope that the videos can inspire people in different countries and regions to try to find the solutions that best fit their situations,” adds László Patkó, Large Carnivore Conservation Project Manager at WWF-Hungary.

The videos were filmed in Finland, Norway, Germany, France, Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Austria and Hungary. All videos have been published on the LIFE EuroLargeCarnivores project’s YouTube channel. The videos will be shared widely on WWF Central and Eastern Europe social media channels.

WWF-Romania offers stories of two locals living in areas where wolves, bears and lynx never disappeared; Relu Nica a former ranger and Ioan Purcel a former hunter from the Apuseni Mountains. For both, large carnivores are an indispensable presence in the forest and a treasure that must be protected. In their opinion, there are solutions to reduce the risk of unwanted meetings, which some people have successfully applied and can share with others.

via Stories of Coexistence: Emerging Europeans share their experiences of living with large carnivores – Emerging Europe | News, Intelligence, Community

Un lobo adulto fue sorprendido por un excursionista cuando iba en su coche por la carretera AS-229 muy cerca de Bárzana y en dirección Santa Marina, en las proximidades del polígono industrial. Fue las 14,16 horas de hoy. El testigo regresaba de hacer la ruta de las Ubiñas y quedó perplejo al ver desde su coche que el lobo se dirigía hacia él por la carretera. Cuando se percató de su presencia el lobo viró hacia la izquierda y subió corriendo por la carretera en dirección Vallín, Muriellos y Rano, para perderse en la lejanía. El testigo pudo grabar un pequeño vídeo y relatar en sus redes sociales:  «Pasaba con el coche y allá a lo lejos vi un puntín alargado. Me dije «eso es un lobo» entre las casas. Cualquiera hubiera tirado de largo pensando que era un pastor alemán, pero yo como estoy mucho de verlos lo distinguí. ¡La madre que me parió que si era un lobo… estuve un rato observándolo. Este es el resultado del control lobero y de las cacerías que enganchan una manada y la liquidan con algún superviviente, luego éstos tienen que bajar a los pueblos a por ovejas porque solos ya no pueden cazar jabalíes ni ciervos», explicaba el autor del vídeo.

via Graban a un lobo corriendo junto al polígono de Bárzana | Diario digital del Camín Real de la Mesa

A young wolf has been knocked down and killed by a car near Epe by the Veluwe heathlands, forester Ger Verwoerd from nature organisation Geldersche Landschappen & Kastelen has confirmed.

The wolf was hit on Wednesday morning and ran into the woods where it was later found dead. The driver had alerted police who used a specialist hunting dog to track the wounded animal.

The wolf, thought to be about a year old, will undergo a post mortem and dna tests to see if it is part of the litter of wolves born in the area last year.

At least five wolves were known to be living in the Netherlands at the end of 2019.
via Young wolf killed by car in Gelderland, may be part of Veluwe family – DutchNews.nl

Germany has made it easier for farmers to kill wild wolves. A new law should help farmers better protect their livestock now that the wolf population in Germany is on the rise.

After months of debate, German lawmakers agreed on Thursday to a new law that makes it easier for farmers to lethally shoot wolves in order to protect their livestock.

Livestock farmers will have the right to shoot wild wolves if they are causing “serious damage” to their animals. Formerly, farmers were only allowed to shoot if the wolves threatened the farmer’s livelihood.

The new law permits killing wolves up until the point that there are no more attacks on farm animals in an area, even if it means killing an entire wolf pack.

Farmers are authorized to shoot a wolf regardless of whether that specific animal is responsible for attacking a herd. Wolf-dog hybrids may also be shot.
via Germany relaxes law on shooting wolves | News | DW | 20.12.2019

 

Projekt se ukvarja z ohranjanjem populacij velikih zveri – medveda, risa in volka na področju severnih Dinaridov, na mejnem območju med Hrvaško in Slovenijo. Posebna pozornost je namenjena zmanjševanju tveganj, ki ogrožajo velike zveri, preko informiranja, usposabljanja in z drugih aktivnosti.

Vodilni partner Carnivore Dinarice je Biotehniška fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani, partnerja na slovenski strani sta še Zavod za gozdove Slovenije, Občina Pivka, na strani Hrvaške pa Javni zavod Nacionalni park Risnjak, Veterinarska fakulteta Univerze v Zagrebu, WWF Adria, občina Vrbovsko ter Primorsko-goranska županija. Pridruženi partnerji so še Zavod RS za varstvo narave, Hrvaška agencija za okolje in naravo ter NINA Norveški inštitut za raziskovanje narave.
via Zakaj je Martinova ovratnica prenehala oddajati signal? | Žurnal24

Kljub temu obstajajo določene, sicer izjemno redke okoliščine, v katerih pa bi tudi volk lahko postal nevaren za človeka. Glavni razlog za to je steklina. Podobno kot druge živali in ljudje tudi volkovi, ki so oboleli za steklino, spremenijo svoje vedenje in postanejo agresivni do vseh drugih bitij.

Steklina pri volkovih v Sloveniji sicer do zdaj še ni bil odkrita. Druga možnost nevarnosti so križanci med psi in volkovi. Križanci v primerjavi z volkovi pogosto nimajo prirojenega strahu pred ljudmi in zato večkrat prihajajo v stik s človekom. Za večino tistih nekaj znanih primerov, ko je volk napadel človeka in so o tem poročali iz tujine, je bila kriva steklina ali pa križanci s psi.
via Je volk nevaren človeku ali človek volku?