Wolf in Poland Wojciech Śmietana Bieszczady Field Station Institute of Nature Conservation PAS BIESZCZADY LARGE CARNIVORE PROJECT
Distribution, number and legal status of wolves in Poland Total number of wolves- 600. Number of packs 120. Strictly protected species since 1998. Jędrzejewski at. al. 2002 Dystribution in Europe
Distribution and number of wolves in Polish Carpathians In Polish Carpathians wolves occupy ca. 7 thousands km 2. Wolf number: 200-250 ind.
Wolf distribution in the Carpathian Mountains Carpathians (ca. 200 thousand km 2 ) are divided among seven countries: Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. In total about wolves 2800-3900 wolves occupy here 100-130 thousands km 2. (Okarma et al. 2002)
Number and legal status of wolves in Carpathian countries Country Czech Republic Poland Romania Slovakia Ukraine Hungary Legal status Protected Protected Protected Game species Game species Protected Estimated number 5-10 200-250 250 2000-2800 2800 300-450 350 5-10 Total: 2800-3900 ind. Source: Okarma et al. 2002
Size of wolf packs territories in Polish and Slovakian Carpathians Size of wolf pack territories (km 2 ) Location Method Reference 82-90 (3 packs) Bieszczady (Poland) Snow-tracking Śmietana i Wajda 1997 161-323 (3 packs) Bieszczady (Poland) Radio-tracking Śmietana nie publ. 146-191 191 (2 packs) Tatra Mountains and Low Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) Radio-tracking Find o o 2004 74-172 (3 packs) Śląski and śywiec Beskides (Poland) Snow-tracking Nowak 2002 126-229 229 (2 packs) Sanok-Turka Mountains and Przemyśl Foothills (Poland) Radio-tracking Gula i Pirga 2005
Teritories of two neighbouring wolf packs determined on the basis of radio-tracking in the Bieszczady Mountains.
Wolf number changes in the Bieszczady Mts study area- ca.. 600 km 2 From 1991 to 2006 wolf numbers in early winter was fluctuating from 10 to 33 individuals and estimated density between 1.7-6.2 ind./ 100 km 2. Wolf number was determined on the basis of snow- tracking, radio- tracking and DNA analisis of fecal samples. 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Wolf mortality Until 1998 the main factor of wolf mortality was legal game harvest (85%). Since wolf became protected species these carnivores die mostly because of poaching. Some wolves die because of natural reasons (disease, malnutrition and territorial fights).
Fate of radio-collared wolves in the Bieszczady Mountains study area. Sex Age Date of capture Radio-tracking time period (months) Fate of the wolf 1. Female 2 years March 2001 0,75 Poached 2. Female 1 year February 2002 0,25 Probably poached 3. Male 7 years March 2002 19 Emigrated to the south 4. Male 4 years March 2003 10 Probably poached 5. Male 3 years May 2006 6 Snared and released by poacher. Collar damaged by snare.
Relatively high reproduction and possibility of disperion enable wolves to exist despite high mortality caused by humans. But lack of human acceptance and new barriers for wolf migration could cause decrease of their numbers and reduction of their present distribution.
Food composition Percent biomass consumed of a given food type. Determined from scat analyses. Food type Białowie owieŝa Bieszczady W Beskides Red deer 17.6 79.8 42.2 Roe deer 2.9 6.4 32.6 Undetermined deer 60.9-16.4 Wild boar 15.1 7.0 4.2 Livestock - 1.3 2.8 Others 3.5 4.5 1.8 (Jędrzejewski et al. 2000, Śmietana 2002, Nowak et al. 2005)
Wolf predation is the main natural mortality factor among red deer, roe deer and wild boar. Bieszczady Mounthains. Species Mortality factor Man Wolf Lynx Other natural Red deer 53-71 27-44 1-2 2-3 Roe deer 24-27 27 41-44 44 32 - Wild boar 45-52 52 38-43 5-6 5-6
Selectivity of wolf predation
The share of a given red deer class (calf, hind, stags) varies by months.
Wolf predation is selective toward old hinds. Among males they kill mostly individuals <5 years old. High vulnerability of young males probably is an outcome of heavy harvest of males for trophies during rutting season.
Almost 40% of adult males and calves and about 10 % of adult females killed by wolves were in poor condition and would not survive to the next spring.
Livestock depredation
Number of livestock killed by wolves in 2000-2005 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Carpathians Lowlands Total 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Regional differences in species structure of livestock killed by wolves Lowlands Cattle 92 % Cattle Sheep Carpathians Sheep 90 % Goats Horses Others
N 600 500 400 300 Sheep 200 100 0 2000 2002 2004 2006 Number of sheep killed in Podkarpacie Province
25 20 15 10 5 Number of sheep (%)/ month 0 I III V VII IX XI 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 >5 Number of sheep/ atack
Main problems of wolf conservation in the Polish Carpathians - Low acceptance of wolf protection by local inhabitants. - Increase of traffic and linear development of settlement and road infrastructure
Improvement of human attitude toward wolves can be achieved by following actions: - Education based on locally obtained results of field studies - Improvement of compensation system - Introduction and improvement of non-lethal methods of depredation prevention - Site-specific eliminating of problem wolves
Wolf damage prevention methods Livestock guarding dogs The oldest method of preventing depredation involve guard dogs. In Poland, Tatra Mountains Shepherd Dogs (Owczarek Podhalański) are traditionally used to guard flocks of sheep by shepherds from Podhale (region around Tatra Mountains). Traditionally used livestock guarding dogs accompany shepherds who watch the flocks. During nights sheep are kept within small corrals made from wood and dogs stay nearby. Often one shepherd stays just next to the corral, too.
In 1995 I attempted to introduce livestock guarding dogs to farmers who never used such type of dogs. The goal of the project was to obtain dogs, which will permanently stay with grazing sheep or goats (without presence of shepherd) without harming them, and aggressively repelling predators. The livestock guarding dog chooses to remain with the flock because it has been reared from puppy hood with them. Its protective behaviours are largely instinctive, and there is relatively little formal training required other than timely correction of undesirable behaviours. The use of livestock guarding dogs is recommended both for open range and fenced pasture grazing.
Two metres high net-wire fences Five 2 m high wire-netting fences were constructed to protect sheep. Corrals from 0.01 to 1.0 ha are used to keep sheep inside at night. In all cases this method is used in combination with livestock guarding dogs, and in all cases solved a problem of night attacks on sheep. The method is the most accepted by local farmers and probably the most successful one to protect sheep from wolf depredation at night under local conditions.
Electric fences Electric fencing can be an effective method for protecting livestock from wolves. The fence must be specifically designed to be wolf-proof. At least 4 500 volts should be maintained on at anytime, with pulses around one per second. Fences must be set up with at least six wires or 4-5 electric tapes. The fence must be visible. Use of white 2 cm wide electric tape is recommended. The lowest line should be at least 20-25 cm above ground if positively charged, and the highest one not lower then 120 cm above ground. The electric fences are especially recommended for small pastures.
Elimination of problem wolves In case of permanent wolf attacks on domestic animals if the government does not act, livestock owners often try to resolve problem themselves by illegal killing these predators. Many biologist believe that legal removal of problem wolves is in the best interest of wolf conservation. Killing wolves to reduce livestock depredation is generally tolerated by the public. But it must be reactive and site-specific. Elimination of wolves from a given area or reduction of their density has usually only temporal effect. Thus, the lethal method of depredation control must be accompanied by introduction of non-lethal methods of preventing losses among livestock.
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