Wolves & Human Conflicts -letter

This write up is with reference to a news item published in Chitral News dated 01 Feb, titled "Wolves devour boy in Chitral".

 As human population expands and natural habitats shrink, local people and animals are increasingly coming into conflict over living space and food.

People living near forests lose their crops, livestock, property, and sometimes their lives. The animals, many of which are already threatened or endangered, are often killed in retaliation or to 'prevent' future conflicts.

Human-wildlife conflict is one of the main threats to the continued survival of many species, in many parts of the world, and is also a significant threat to many local human populations.

Surplus killing is defined as the killing of several prey animals too numerous to eat at one sitting. During a surplus-kill, a predator's killing instinct is continually sparked off by the stimuli of so many prey animals unable to escape, so that the predator cannot stop killing.

Instances of surplus killing by wolves is witnessed in many part of the world every year. The wolves eat only a few parts from half the calves and not touched the rest. Wolves sometimes only eat a part of their surplus-killed prey, like the tail or the internal organs.

However, conditions in nature which favour surplus killing are unusual. Consequently surplus killing in the wild is rare, though fairly common in domestic situations in which the prey animals are usually confined and unable to escape the attackers.

Wolves cooperatively hunt any large herbivores in their range. hunting revolves around the chase, as wolves are able to run for long periods before relenting. It takes careful cooperation for a pack to take down large prey, and the rate of success for such chase is very low.

Wolves, in the interest of saving energy, will only chase one potential prey for the first thousand or so meters before giving up and trying at a different time against a different prey. Therefore, like most other pack species, wolves must hunt continually to sustain themselves.

 Solitary wolves depend more on smaller animals, which they capture by pouncing and pinning with their front paws. This technique is also common among other canids such as foxes.

The wolves, not willing to risk injury, are more likely to yield when encountered with such a bold individual. Instead, they will try to target weaker prey members that are easier and safer to hunt. Wolves are generally inefficient at killing large healthy prey, with success rates as low as 20% which is due, in part, to the large size and defensive capabilities of their prey.

Like many other keystone predators, wolves are sensitive to fluctuations in the abundance of prey. They are likely to have minor changes in their populations as the abundance of their primary prey species gradually rises and drops over long periods of time. This balance between wolves and their prey prevents the mass starvation of both predator and prey.

Although wolves very rarely attack humans, the causes of wolf attacks may vary greatly. Habitat loss for example can cause the wolf's natural prey to diminish and therefore cause the local wolves to turn to attacking livestock or on some rare occasions, even people. Close proximity to humans may also cause habituation.

In this case, wolves lose their fear of humans and consequently approach too close. Habituation usually happens when people encourage wolves to come up to them, usually by offering them food, or when people do not sufficiently intimidate wolves.

Habituation can also occur accidentally. With unrestricted hunting, forest clearing and intensive livestock grazing there is little natural prey, therefore forcing the wolves to feed on domestic animals and garbage, then bringing them in close proximity to humans.

However, wild wolves are often timid around humans, and usually try to avoid contact with them, to the point of even abandoning their kills when an approaching human is detected.

Wolves are a part of our ecosystem, and  therefore:-

-Wolves, like all other wildlife, have a right to exist in a wild state in viable populations. This right is in no way related to their known value to mankind. Instead, it derives from the right of all living creatures to co-exist with man as a part of natural ecosystems.

-This harsh judgement on the wolf has been based, first, on fear of the wolf as a predator of man and second, on hatred because of its predation on domestic and semidomestic animals and on large wild animals. It is now evident that the wolf can no longer be considered a serious threat to man. It is true, however, that the wolf has been, and in some cases still is, a predator of some importance on domestic and semidomestic animals and wildlife.

-Conflict with man sometimes occurs from undue economic competition or from imbalanced predator-prey ratios adversely affecting prey species and/or the wolf itself. In such cases, temporary reduction of wolf populations may become necessary especially when it can contribute to maintaining positive or neutral attitudes toward wolves, but reduction measures should be imposed under strict scientific management.

-Scientific knowledge of the role of the wolf in ecosystems has increased greatly, although it is inadequate in many countries where the wolf still exists. Management should be established only on a firm scientific basis, having regard for international, national and regional situations. However, existing knowledge is at least adequate to develop preliminary programs to conserve and manage the wolf throughout its range.

Ajaz Ahmed

Chitral