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Our Friend the Wolf |
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Much has been said of the wolf. However, in this article, written by Anabela in 2003 in her characteristic style, it is clear how the essence of this animal comes to light. Iberian Wolf The confined Predator Hunted for centuries, the Iberian Wolf is a survivor. It has resisted traps, lures, shooting-parties, guns, snares and poisons. Its interest in domestic animals earned it the name of an enemy to be disposed off. Conflict between Man and Wolf, based on false prejudices and myths, significantly contributed to species regression and constitutes a major problem in its conservation. “Free the wolves”. “Park staff release wolves into the hills.” Comments like this are quickly picked up in rural areas. Versions are varied and border on the miraculous, based on a fertile imagination and simplistic beliefs – if partridge and rabbits can be re-introduced, obviously we have to release wolves. The people who propose such ideas seem to be members of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature (Instituto de Conservação da Natureza) or the Directorate General for Forests (Direcção Geral de Florestas) or even environmental associations. Rural populations seem to believe that wolf population increase is not natural but a simple result of their being freed into the hills. And, by a strange coincidence, all the stories are similar, whether related by a priest or a café owner, telling of night-release from a commercial vehicle (almost always white). There are those too who tell of wolves flying or being delivered by small aeroplane or helicopters. But one thing is certain, those who relate these stories have never helped to release wolves; they have only heard about it, or perhaps know someone who ‘saw’ such a release. Public conception that there are massive and deliberate releases of wolves to the wild, without any scientific backing, seems to have acquired modern, myth-like proportions and has appeared to have gathered a fantastic following. According to Francisco Álvares, biologist and wolf researcher, this belief hinders study and conservation of the species. “In many parts of Northwest Portugal, we are regarded with sceptisim when we ask about the wolf. Sometimes the people get excited and some farmers offer us physical aggression. Its very difficult to talk to people and to suggest conservation measures when they believe that we are amongst many trying to release wolves to the wild.” At the same time, the concept that they are being prejudiced deliberately encourages a negative attitude with regard to wild dogs and contributes to their wish to exterminate them. The origin of this myth appears to be related to lack of knowledge about the wolf’s biology. Many farmers were emigrants for most of their lives and when they returned home, found themselves completely out of touch. They no longer understood the natural and cultural realities of their homeland. On the other hand, sudden changes in the lifestyle and distribution of the wolf, a natural dynamic inheritance of the specie, also contribute to accentuating doubts about this animal. The summer increase of individuals is seen by farmers as a “further release of wolves in our region.” Apart from considerations that appear to justify breeding and increase of wolves is their appearance in locations where they had been considered extinct. The use of poisons will easily destroy a pack of four or five individuals. Often, people will find a dead animal and assume that they have finished with them. After this, the animals are not seen during a period two years but, in areas where there is a high density of animals, the probability of re-colonization is high. So it is that the following year when the farmers notice the trails left by the wolves, they exclaim in indignation, “They are releasing the wolves.” In the age of widespread media, the wolf is seen as a mythological animal with supernatural and malign powers. There are frequent portrayals of it as demonic and destructive beast. At the forefront of this portrayal appears to be the Catholic Church and its use of the wolf as a satanic symbol – as an animal that is an enemy of God. Medieval Man, with his deeply-rooted religious sentiments, assimilates this idea, attributing to the wolf a mythological and supernatural dimension. Later, by the end of the XVII century, Frenchman Charles Perrault, published “The Red Capuchin”, which highlighted in the minds of millions of children, the image of ferocious wolves devouring people. So much so that a recent poll undertaken by a team from Coimbra University by the Behavioural Cognition Therapy group logged ‘fear of the bad wolf’’ as the worst of infant phobias. Francisco Álvares is categorical: “myths and beliefs, ancient and modern, foment a negative attitude in relation to the wolf and are at the bottom of the ancestral hatred Man feels for this animal.” Man-Wolf conflict has two causes. On the one hand, there is the economic damage caused by the wolf’s predation on cattle. On the other, we have the cultural question. This aversion to the canine led to its persecution and the desire to exterminate it. All methods were valid. During the XIX and XX centuries, manuals were published that described many ways of exterminating the wolf. This unequal battle had catastrophic consequences for the wolf population during the XX century as it suffered huge regression. During the 1930s the wolf suffered across its territory in the national domain. Today, it is confined to the more remote hills of the North and Centre, spread across about 20 000 km2 Its main centres of distribution occur in the mountains of the national parks of Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês, Parque Natural de Montesinho and Parque Natural do Alvão. According to the most recent estimates, - Project LIFE, 1996 – the Portuguese population of the Iberian wolf (canis lupus signatus) is around 300 animals distributed amongst about 50 groups. The last strongholds The areas of its distribution are discontinuous. There are two populations separated by the river Douro. North of the river there are seven population groups; Peneda-Gerês, Alvão/Falperra, Padrela/Valpaços, Arga/Paredes de Coura, Cabreira/Barroso, Marão/Baião e Bragança/Montesinho. In the north, the wolf is fairly evenly distributed, except in Terra Quente Transmontana and in the coastal strip between Viana do Castelo and Porto, from where it has now disappeared. This population is relatively stable and is connected to the Spanish wolf population through Galicia and Castela-León. The population groups that can be considered stable often concentrate in mountainous areas where human population levels are low. On the other hand, those groups that are less stable can be found in areas with higher human populations as well as areas that are marginal for wolf survival. In the district of Bragança the wolf essentially occupies the north and east of the country. The area of its distribution runs from the ranges of Coroa, Montesinho and Nogueira to the high plains of Miranda do Douro and Mogadouro and much of the Sabor river valley and adjacent areas. Here, there are seventeen to twenty family groups that have contact amongst themselves as well as with the Spanish populations. This nucleus is an integral part of one of the principal Iberian strongholds for wolf conservation, Bragança-Zamora, and appears to be the country’s most stable group. The impact of humans on these wolves is not great as predation levels on cattle are low. The presence of stable groups of various wild ungulates and the livestock management styles practiced in this area ensure low levels of prejudice against the wolf. Another stable nucleus lives in the wild mountains of Northwest Portugal in the frontier area with Galicia, which is included in the area comprising the Crossborder Gerês Park, Xures and the surrounding mountains, Larouco and Cabreira. Here, there are twelve family groups ranging between 5 and 10 members which breed regularly. In some years, there are packs which, between autumn and spring, have more than twelve members. How long can they survive? Also in the area of influence of the Peneda-Gerês National Park (an area where the Park pays for damage caused by the wolf) and in the extreme northwest of distribution of the wolf in Portugal, there exists a small nucleus – Arga/Paredes de Coura – which is gravely threatened. It consists of three groups: Arga, Boulhosa and Cruz Vermelha. The last group occupies the mountains south of Paredes de Coura as far as the Lima river and last bred in 1996. Since then there has been no evidence of breeding. During the last two years, signs of their presence have diminished. There have been no sightings or other indications that they are still in the area. This situation has led Francisco Álvares to question whether this pack even exists. “We seem to be dealing with an area that, occasionally, is used by scattered members of a pack and where their presence is sporadic.” In the Arga family group, which occupies the mountains of Santa Luzia and Arga, there has been evidence of regular breeding until 2001. At the beginning of the 1990s in the area of Santa Luzia, where for more than 10 years there had been no trace of wolves, several ponies were attacked. Initially it was thought that these attacks were carried out by stray dogs, but, during field-work carried out by project LIFE, evidence of wolves was confirmed. The attacks began from the moment the ponies appeared in the area. The availability of a food source in a mountain area where previously there had been none would seem to explain the presence of wolves from Arga. However, the survival of this group was seriously compromised by the construction of a road, the A3, between Cepões and Fontoura, which totally isolated it. To compound the situation, this year Francisco Álvares – in spite of having redoubled his monitoring efforts – has not detected any evidence of breeding in this pack. The Boulhosa pack, which occupies the mountains north of Paredes de Coura, used to have contact, before construction of the A3, with the groups from Arga/Paredes de Coura and Peneda/Gerês. It is a group that breeds irregularly and this year there was again no evidence of breeding. During the last eight years, Francisco Álvares has developed a monitoring study of the wolf in Northwest Portugal, co-financed by PNPG and by the Wolf Group. The results leave no room for doubt. “Outside the limits of the Peneda-Gerês National Park, but within the area it inhabits, the wolf is disappearing.” The Serra do Maroiço pack, in the district of Fafe, has disappeared. It could have bred in 1994 but since then it has ceased to breed, there have been no sightings and other traces are rare. “It appears to be an area that wolves occasionally pass through. An added complication is that it is an area where there are stray dogs and these completely mask any traces of wolves that might be found. The Arga and Serra do Maroiço packs formed a buffer zone with the PNPG. When these disappeared, the wolves in the park became the front line and this reality is occurring now. Francisco Álvares fears for the future of the Arga pack. The Cruz Vermelha poderá pack could also be in a pre-extinction phase and other packs may not survive “more than two or three years.” Along with direct persecution and the barrier effect of infrastructures, the abandonment of agriculture and the rapid reduction of sheep and goat flocks and herds of cows explains the reason for the disappearance and regression of the wolf in this area. Villages are being deserted and the rural nature of such zones is suffering. Roads – death and isolation To the south and in the interior, the Alvão/Falperra group occupies a mountainous region between Vila Real and Vila Pouca de Aguiar, which includes the Serra do Alvão and the Falperra ranges as well the mountains to the east of Vila Real. This group is comprised of five relatively stable family groups, with reasonable numbers of animals. Within the area of the Alvão National Park, the wolves’ diet is essentially based on goats and there is high availability of food. The main threats to this group are the “humanization” of the river Corgo valley, which limits the range of the wolves, and the entire road network either already built or being planned South of the river Douro, survival of the wolf is far more complicated. The two groups, Arada/Trancoso and Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo/Sabugal – are isolated from the rest of the lupine population, and possibly also from each other, and are made up of very unstable and scattered family groups. The group situated close to the Spanish frontier may already have disappeared. There has been no evidence of breeding in the Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo pack since 1994 and, in recent years, there haven’t even been any traces of their presence. The Malcata family group disappeared five or six years ago. A lack of prey and direct persecution seem to have been the causes for this extinction. The last animals were illegally killed by hunters. The Arada/Trancoso group is probably the only biologically viable group in the Iberian Peninsula south of the river Douro. It is confined to the mountainous areas of the Beira Alta and occupies the Freita, Arada, Montemuro, Leomil and Lapa ranges. Results from the 1996 census indicate the presence of about thirty animals distributed amongst six or seven family groups. In 2002, according to Francisco Fonseca, professor at Lisbon University’s Faculty of Sciences and president of the Wolf Group, “the population of this group seems to be relatively stable and should maintain itself at around thirty animals.” However, the pressures on this group are enormous. Fast roads and parks continue to be built, contributing to population fragmentation and increasing mortality. “Although there is evidence of breeding every year, the population remains at the same number of members.” The death rate appears to match the birth rate. Amongst the causes of death, road-kill stands out. Direct persecution seems to have diminished as a result of pastoral abandonment, but the increasing wild boar population has contributed to the number of snares and traps which also kill wolves. Reduction in Man-Wolf conflict urged For Francisco Álvares, “direct persecution is one of the factors most affecting conservation of the wolf.” In the whole distribution area of the species “the region of the Peneda-Gerês National Park is the zone where this conflict reaches its greatest proportions.” The lupine population that occupies this territory feeds mainly on domestic animals, typically cows and horses. “The wolves’ dependence on these herbivores is such that, in areas of this region where there are large numbers of cattle, the wolf occurs at the highest known densities in Europe.” This means that farmers in the PNPG seriously feel the impact of losses associated with predation on domestic cattle. On the other hand, the cultural component that attributes a negative image to the wolf is very obvious in these populations. Thus there is a need to study this. For Francisco Álvares, “the study and keeping of these occurrences can help us to understand the attitudes of rural communities with regard to the wolf, allowing us to find solutions to reduce this conflict.” Conservation of this species in “humanized” areas is only possible through the reduction in the Man-Wolf conflict and this can be achieved through environmental education. “People only know the wolf through legend and getting away from this problem is a fundamental step for the conservation of this predator.” Furthermore, and because distribution of the wolf coincides with mountain areas that are economically unsuitable, “it is urgent that measures are taken to improve the economic situation in rural communities, principally by reducing predator damage and taking steps to promote the economic and touristic value of the wolf’s image.” Promotion of ecotourism that takes into account the biological aspects of this animal and the cultural heritage associated with it could generate finances for the population and teach people “to look at the wolf with new eyes.” A system of delays and injustice In 1971, when the Peneda-Gerês National Park was created, a system of compensation was implemented to cover damage caused by the wolf. At that time, damages would only be paid if they took place within the boundaries of the park. In 1988, with the implementation of Law 90/88, the wolf was declared a protected species and attempts were made to create a mechanism to efficiently resolve conflicts caused by the carnivore. This mechanism, which was only regulated by Law 139/90, is based on payment caused by wolves to domestic animals, throughout the area frequented by the predator. However, the law regulating compensation does not cover financing of payments. The result is that payments are made with delays of one or more years. According to Inês Barroso, an administrator with the Protected Species Division of ICN, the situation is complicated. “The old management was able to make some adaptations in the system for obtaining funds for payments. This resulted in prompt payments.” Many areas have now had damages paid up to July. “We are still not within the legal requirements which say that we have two months to indemnify owners, but we have managed to reduce the delays of two years that we used to have.” For Inês Barroso this reduction was an important step. “The delays were intolerable for both the owners and also the people who work in conservation. It is impossible to spread a conservationist message and expect people to change their attitude when these people feel limited and have problems when they are not compensated punctually.” The current compensation system has been the target of various critics. On the one hand it doesn’t apportion either punctual or fair payments, and on the other hand it has contributed to the carelessness of some farmers with relation to the protection of their own herds. “We should be more critical with regard to this system”, says Francisco Álvares. “We all know that it has some problems, specifically in areas where many horses and cows graze freely.” A pack of four or five wolves can easily attack a young bull or a colt. When the farmer goes looking for the animal, he rarely finds it. As there are no remains, there is no compensation. Then there are those who use the wolf as a scapegoat and when a cow dies in its manger they take it out to a field and calls the nature wardens so that they can register “yet another attack”. It ends up being a perverse and unjust system that neither holds owners accountable nor helps to protect the wolf. Measures that remained in the drawer Administrators of a wolf work group at the Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICN), knowing the legislative limitations, proposed a change to the Wolf Law by adapting it to cattle management systems in use in Portugal and promoting the protection of cattle by farmers. One of the changes relates to the minimum requirements for compensation. “We identified six traditional methods used by farmers in areas where there are wolves and, for each of them, the minimum requirements necessary for compensation were identified,” explains Inês Barroso. “This proposal was presented and has been much discussed by ICN and other entities. We hope it will be rapidly approved and published. Still with regard to reducing the Man-Wolf conflict we are preparing a parcel of measures to support cattle breeders and help them to follow the regulations for efficient protection of their herds.” Awarding prizes to farmers who own Portuguese sheepdogs and native cattle; economic incentives for breeders who limit the size of their herds in order to guarantee their security, were among the methods discussed. “We tried to make them environmental because we felt they would fit perfectly.” Unhappily, however these proposals have not yet been put in place. They were not given a place within the environmental measures. “We hope that there may be another way to implement them. This question has already been raised at higher levels. We have already warned of the need to practice these measures as soon as the new legislation is published. When that happens, new conditions will be introduced and it is important that the farmers be supported in achieving these aims” Sheepdogs, an efficient system Also to reduce conflicts between cattle breeders and wolves, the Wolf Group, in 1996, started a programme dealing with traditional use of dogs to guard the cattle herds. During the initial phase only Castro-Laboreiro dogs were used. Later, the programme used other native dogs – the Serra da Estrela dog and the Rafeiro Alentejano. Sílvia Ribeiro, a biologist with the Wolf Group, is very pleased with the success of this projecto. “During the early years it was difficult to find people willing to accept a dog. Later, they saw how efficient the animals were and joined the program. Today it is the farmers who come to us asking for the dogs.” Until now, we have placed 50 animals. The use of dogs was evaluated using three criteria – number of injured animals, satisfaction of the owner and the behaviour of the dog. The result was very satisfactory. “Animal injuries were reduced by 33% to 100% and more than 95% of the farmers thought the dogs were very efficient. Most of them said they believed the drop in injuries was due the presence of the dog in the herd.” The project, “Contribution towards the minimization of the economical impact of predators on domestic animals” had two objectives. Reducing the predatory impact of wolves and wild dogs and too contribute to the recovery of two native breeds of dog traditionally used for guarding herds – the Castro-Laboreiro dog and the Serra da Estrela dog. For Sílvia Ribeiro the main virtue of this work was “combating the skepticism shown by various sectors, public and private, and showing that the use of these dogs as a way of preventing attacks by predators is useful, feasible and inexpensive, and its application merely requires that all those involved participate.” As part of this line of work, the Montesinho National Park has also started using the Transmontano dog – a large animal, a type of Mastiff – to reduce attacks by wolves. Visible barriers, an alternative method Currently, the Wolf Group continues to monitor the placed dogs and integrate others. Now, within the scope of the project “New solutions for control of predation on domestic animals”, which has been running since July de 2001, the aims are to evaluate the viability and efficiency of using alternative methods to protect domestic animals. “Taking account of the farming system used in Portugal and of the environmental characteristics in the distribution area of the Iberian Wolf, we will use methods of preventing predation such as electric fences and visual barriers.” One of the methods to be used is the use of flags, visual barriers made of rope with coloured pieces of cloth hanging from it. The use of flags had its origin in Eastern Europe and was used to catch wolves. This methods works by placing pieces of coloured cloth at specific distances on a horizontal rope which defines the area to be protected. Because of the movement of the cloths in the wind the wolves will tend not to approach the protected area. Recent studies with captive wolves have demonstrated that the use of visual barriers can prevent them from approaching a food source, thus protecting the cattle from attacks, at least temporarily. Currently, in some European countries – Italy and Romania – this technique is being reconverted for conservation of the wolf. Is there still preservation? South of the river Douro, the Wolf Group is developing another project which will evaluate the plight of these packs, analyse public attitudes to the wolf and highlight measures to save the lupine population south of the Douro. With this study, Francisco Fonseca wishes to “identify some measures that could be put into practice creating zones of expansion or connection in the areas where the wolves disappeared from a few years ago and towards the zone near the frontier.” The measures could allow the natural expansion of wolves belonging to the Serra da Lapa, Arada and Leomil groups into areas with low human densities, from where they disappeared five or six years ago (Malcata and Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo). On the other hand, the study will analyse public attitudes towards the wolf. “We are trying to find out which sectors of society are for or against the wolf in order to discover what measures we can take to help with wolf conservation.” So far, there are no results. “We are in the collecting phase, using schools, cattle breeding organizations and hunters. Rain allowing, the field work will be finished by the end of December.” Then all this information will be analysed. Finally, a set of measures will be identified necessary for the conservation of the wolf. For now, the group undertaking the study is trying to open the doors that, in future, may allow action to be taken. “We are trying to identify areas to reintroduce Roe deer and, at the same time, we have been talking to hunters. We are trying to discover what interest there is and what the possibilities for cooperation with other entities might be.” We have also attempted to identify ecological corridors that will allow the movement of wolves. However, steps are being taken to avoid or lessen their destruction. Knowledge protects Other projects within the scope of the study and the conservation of the wolf have been implemented by the ICN and started in September 1999. The “Dead Wolf Monitoring System” hopes to encompass three basic institutions. The Natural History Museum, so that it can continue improving its existing reference collection. The National Veterinary Investigation Laboratory which will investigate causes of death, and the ICN, researching collection and movement of animals. The project, like others that involve different entities, has had some difficulties and the system ended up functioning for only one year. During that time, 12 dead wolves were analysed. Currently there are about twenty animals awaiting necroscopy. “But – says Inês Barroso – at this time we have the methods in place to resume the project.” The ICN administrator hopes that “by the start of 2003 the Monitoring System will, initially, move into high gear in order to deal with all threatened wildlife and there after slow down a little in order to deal as quickly as possible with any animals found. ”For Inês Barroso, one of the advantages of this project is “is the speed of determining the cause of death of the wolf, which will allow prompt action when the situation warrants it.” As well as analyzing the causes of death, the project also has the objective of functioning as a tissue and genetic material bank which will be made available to scientific bodies that require this information for their studies. In this context, ICN contacted various institutions, both in Portugal and overseas, do discover what they needed and to ask about the existence of such material. Through this work, they also hope to increase and improve the reference collection in the National Museum of Natural History. Inês Barroso believes that “this method of determining the causes of death, contribute to methods of preventing it in future.” On the other hand “we hope that, in the future, the results of these studies with available material could be used to implement management methods for conservation of the wolf.” There is still much work to be done muito! There is still much to be done to assure conservation of the wolf in Portugal. Combating the use of poison, a great scourge for the species, through educational campaigns for rural populations by major inspections in the field, is one of the priorities. Our objective is currently to try to involve an anti-venom group, similar to what was done during the ‘Antidote Programme’ carried out in Spain. This idea surfaced in 1999, during a symposium on poisons, which took place in Mértola. There was a ‘difficult birth’ to this, but, recently – during the 1st Iberian Meeting of Wild Fauna Recovery and Conservation, in Castelo Branco – it started to develop. The “national programme against the action of venom on wildlife” is aimed at involving several NGOs and public bodies with the target of forming a work-group that could reduce the impact of mortality in many species of fauna. The reduction of the wolves’ natural prey is another factor that continues to threaten the species. Within this context Alvão Nature Park has developed a series of improvements in habitat management, with the aim of allowing the recovery and stabilization of natural prey populations. In 1997, reintroduction of the Roe Deer was carried out south of the Douro. Recently, ateam from the University of Porto, in a project led by the Forest Directorate, reintroduced animals of French origin to the area of Beira Interior. But, for Francisco Fonseca, it is necessary to identify further area for the introduction of this animal. North of the Douro, the reintroduction cannot be carried out thoughtlessly, as a native population of Roe Deer already exists. On the other hand, and in the opinion of Francisco Álvares, “the Roe Deer population north of the Douro is expanding naturally and, should it not increase further, it will be because conditions are not favourable for this.” Illegal hunting, forest fires and the destruction of habitat belonging to the Roe Deer, are reasons for this. The biologist continues, “a management plan for Roe Deer north of the Douro should invest in re-forestation, in fighting illegal hunting and, if necessary, rebuilding the population with native individuals, taken from areas with the highest densities.” Implementation of a national action-plan for conservation of the wolf is another priority for conservation of this species. Through an agreement with the European Commission, Portugal must develop, as quickly as possible, action-plans to deal with large carnivores under the jurisdiction of this body. “For this reason – affirms Inês Barroso – we need to develop an action-plan for the wolf as soon as we can.” Because, in the end, “it is an action-plan that links all the actions of all participants necessary to establish, throughout the country, actions that could support or compromise conservation of the wolf.” However, in spite of all that still has to be done, this year saw the start of a phase that could mark the start of a new phase in wolf conservation in Portugal. For the first time, during the “National Wolf Census 2002”, it was possible to introduce the various researchers, who worked together and with the wolf, to a common methodology. The use of field methodology similar to that used in Spain allowed, for the first time, a census across Iberia of a threatened animal, by resorting to uniformity. Further news of progress should be available during the first 4 months of 2003.
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