The magazine of The UK Wolf Conservation Trust, published quarterly

Issue 21 Autumn 2004

Published by:The UK Wolf Conservation TrustButlers Farm, Beenham,Reading RG7 5NTTel & Fax: 0118 971 3330e-mail: ukwct@ukwolf.orgwww.ukwolf.org

EditorDenise Taylor Tel: 024 7626 4326e-mail: denisetaylor@ntlworld.com

Editorial TeamJulia Ford,Andrew Matthews, Gwynne Power,Sue Sefscik

Contributors to this issue:Pat Adams, Lise Donnez, Mohammed S Farhadinia,Kaveh Hatami, John D C Linnell, Jorgelina Marino,Alistair Nelson, Kirsty Peake, Deborah Randall

Design Team: Phil Dee Tel: 01788 546565Stephania Balbo, Paul Swainson

PatronsDesmond MorrisErich KlinghammerChristoph Promberger

The UK Wolf Conservation Trust DirectorsNigel BulmerCharles HicksRoger PalmerDenise Taylor

The UK Wolf Conservation Trust is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England &Wales. Company No. 3686061

The opinions expressed in this magazine are notnecessarily those of the publishers or The UK WolfConservation Trust.

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Aims of The UK Wolf Conservation Trust

● To enhance the conservation, scientific knowledgeand public awareness of the environment.

● To stimulate greater interest in Wolves, theirfood, their habitat and their behaviour.

● To provide opportunities for both ethologicalresearch and for people to interact with Wolves.

● To improve the chances of survival of EuropeanWolves in the wild.

● To set up an education programme for schools,conservationists and dog trainers.

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PICTURE CREDITS: Front Cover - Geoffery Gersieand Alex Hampson

The hot topic of wolf reintroduction to Scotland is once again in the media.Millionaire businessman, Paul Lister, has purchased a large estate in the Highlandsand aims to bring back the British "big five" – the grey wolf, bear, lynx, European

bison, and boar.Although not technically a full reintroduction, the animals released will be able to roama relatively large area covering some 60,000 acres. Paul, a keen conservationist, wantsto see the land and its resources put to a different use; returning the estate to a wilderhabitat with more diversity of flora as well as the fauna he intends to release.Paul’s greatest obstacle will be negative attitudes fuelled by the fear of the unknownand the perceived risks associated with large predators. Sadly we now live in such arisk-averse society; one where schools are less inclined to take children on adventuretrips, and horse-riding schools are closing because parents are becoming increasinglylitigious. We continually seek ways to make our lives safer and more comfortable andour environments more sterile, which often means eradicating those things that wethink are a threat to our wellbeing.Paradoxically we have a tendency to eradicate the natural things in our world, whichare often not a threat at all, whilst proliferating the man-made things such as syntheticchemicals, cars, aeroplanes, mobile phones, computers, – things that are proven to be adanger to our health and safety. For example, we perceive all bacteria as beingdangerous, which is not the case at all, and employ an arsenal of carcinogenic chemicalsto rid ourselves of them.In the USA and Britain ridding ourselves of large predators has led to areas of landbeing stripped bare by ungulates, which in turn has led to a decline in other species nolonger capable of being supported by their habitat. Recent studies are starting to showthat Yellowstone Park is recovering ecologically following the reintroduction of wolves,which has changed the behaviour patterns of ungulates and in turn has affected thecapacity for flora to regenerate.This regeneration is Paul’s dream, and it is about much more than reintroducingcharismatic animals. It is about living on a healthy planet that is rich in biodiversity. Wehave to accept that life is a risky business. It is the threat of danger that keeps specieshealthy (including humans) not sterility and safety, which only engender weaknessand frailty.Personally, I would rather live with large predators present, than live in a sterileand empty world, which ultimately is a far greater threat to the survival of thehuman species.

Wolves of the World

Wolves and bears in France – a gloomy future

Food Preference of the Grey Wolf inKarkas Hunting Prohibited Area, Iran

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I ns ide th i s i ssue. . .

Controversial origins: a story ofwolves, conspiracy, black helicoptersand things that go bump in the night

UK Wolf Conservation TrustAutumn Seminar October 2004

Highland gods: Ethiopian wolves'perilous existence in Afroalpineenclaves

Ethiopia’s Bale MountainsNational Park

A Year of Change for the Druidsin Yellowstone

Book Review

close encounter with wolves thatswooped on his flock fromnearby slopes.

"I yelled and threw rocks tochase them away. I have becomefrightened of going into thewoods with the livestock. Weonly go when more of us gettogether," the 55-year-old said.

"In the old days, wolvescame down only in the winter.They were afraid of cowbellsand humans. Now they come allthe time and are not afraid at all,"he said.

Source:By Zoran Radosavljevic

Wolves ThriveJosip Kolak of the ZagrebVeterinarian Faculty, whooversees the national wolfmanagement program, said graywolves (Canis Lupus) had beenexterminated in most of WesternEurope. "Their only chance is ifwe preserve them."

But he said there were manyconflicting interests at stake. "Thestate and environmentalists areon one side, hunters andshepherds on the other. It isdifficult to find a solution thatwould please everyone."

Kolak said the former Yugoslavrepublic -- where the wolfbecame a protected species in1995 -- was home to up to 170wolves, considerably more thanbefore its 1991-95 war ofindependence.

A passionate student of natureand wildlife, Buljubasic said thewolves were more intelligentthan humans might believe.

"They are perfect predators,always scouring their territoryand knowing exactly whereto find food. These wolvesare also behaving differently, theyare getting used to civilizationand eat everything, dogs,cats, carcasses."

State veterinary expert BorisSabic said part of the problemwas in the traditional looseshepherding that still survives onthe slopes of Mount Biokovo.

"A lot of livestock roam free,without supervision and out inthe open and that is ideal easyprey for wolves. But a lot offarmers protect their cattle andhave dogs, and yet they areattacked," Sabic said.

Despite all that, Kolak said thewolf never attacks humans andshould be regarded as an asset,not a marauder.

"However, you cannot sell thatline to shepherds," he said. "Wemust create a situation in whichshepherds can also benefit fromthe wolf's presence, because oftourists coming to see the wolf inthe wild."

Source:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041114/lf_nm/croatia_wolf_dc_1

Wolves of the World4

"For some reason, the numberof wolves always rises after a war,perhaps because people are toobusy killing each other to payattention to wolves," he said.

In addition, some wolves mayhave come from neighboringBosnia, where they are still aprized target for hunters.

Croatia is actively engaged inseveral European wildlife projectsaiming to protect big carnivores -- the wolf, brown bear and lynx -- all still found here.

Most wolves inhabit the ruggedmountains and forests in centralCroatia, reaching almost to theAdriatic coast. As part of theproject, Kolak tries to tag themand monitor their behavior inthe wild.

Intelligent PredatorsIvica Buljubasic, a veteran hunterfrom Zagvozd, does the same inhis own free time. He says heknows all wolf trails in the area,says he can think like a wolf andeven howl like one.

He said the last wolf killed byhunters in the area was in 1975,when there were only one ortwo wolves on the prowl. Nowthere are three or four packsoperating in the relatively smallarea of Mount Biokovo andaround Zagvozd.

"This is way too much, but thefact that there are so many ofthem here means they know theyare not in danger and there isenough food. However, they'vebecome a threat and a nuisance."

EUROPECroatiaShepherds Despair asWolves Thrive in CroatiaZAGVOZD, Croatia (Reuters) -The state has made them aprotected species, but shepherdssay Croatia's wolves are living upto their storybook reputation asthe bad guys.

Wolves roaming rural Croatiaare preying on sheep and goatswhile enjoying more rights thanlivestock owners.

A simple example sums up theproblem: If a shepherd kills a wolf,he faces a 40,000 kuna ($6,800)fine. But if the wolf kills a sheepfrom your flock, the state paysonly 500 kuna, with some delayand only if a state-appointedexpert confirms it was a case oflupine wrongdoing.

Shepherds in this remotevillage in the southern Dalmatiaregion, separated from thetouristy Adriatic coast by MountBiokovo, say they have had theirfill of wolf attacks.The situation isthe same in much of ruralCroatia.

Hardly a day goes by withouta newspaper report ofwolves killing sheep, goats ordogs, almost literally beforetheir owners' eyes, promptingdemands for a reduction oftheir number.

Ivica Brnas owns 45 sheep andgoats, four cows and a horse,guarded by two well-trainedsheep dogs. He recently had a

Wolves of the World 5

Willy Reggiani, head ofLife Natura, an EU-backedwildlife conservation project inEmilia Romagna, said theexperiment began last Februarywhen the 11-month-old male cubwas found injured beside theringroad west of Parma. GianmariaPisani, a veterinary surgeon whoexamined it, said that it wouldalmost certainly have died ifpassing motorists had not calledpark rangers.

The cub was named Ligabueafter Antonio Ligabue, a painterand sculptor who specialised inwild animals and whose works areon show at a museum in Parma.

As the wolf recovered, theEmilia Romagna conservationistsand zoologists from RomeUniversity attached a radio collarto it.After final health checks and ahearty breakfast of wild boar and

roebuck, Ligabue — by nowweighing 28kg — was turnedloose on a snowy morning inMarch between the Cisa andLagastrello passes high in theParco dei Cento Laghi (Park of aHundred Lakes) in the Appeninesnear Parma.

Signor Ciucci said thatthe scientists monitoring thewolf’s progress had held theirbreath for the first few days asthey watched the signals from theglobal positioning satellite onLigabue’s collar.

In the past, radio-tagged wolveshave rarely travelled more than50km, Signor Ciucci told thenewspaper Corriere della Sera.For the first four days, he said,Ligabue was disorientated, and didnot stray far.Then the cub movedoff westwards along the crest of

the Appenines on the borderbetween Emila and Tuscany. Itcrossed and recrossed motorways,stopping for several days in theLunigiana area near La Speziabefore travelling into Liguriabehind Rapallo, Genoa and Savona.

Eventually Ligabue crossed theItalian Maritime Alps to a naturereserve in the Pesio Valley, inCuneo province, and stayed therewith resident wolves for a whilebefore crossing into France at theend of September.

"I think he is still looking for anew life," Signor Ciucci said. "Hewill eventually find his social niche.But he is very young in wolf terms.It is rare that wolves start thinkingof settling down until they are twoyears old."

ItalyLong journey of thelone wolfA GREY wolf that was returned tothe wild after being hit by a car hascovered 1,000km (620 miles) inthe past nine months while makingits way from northern Italy to theFrench Alps, say researchers whohave tracked it with a radiosatellite device.

Paolo Ciucci, lecturer in zoologyat the Department of Human andAnimal Biology at RomeUniversity, said that signals fromthe travelling wolf showed that ithad reached the French nationalpark of Mercantour, which liesbetween the Côte d’Azur and thesouthern Alps.The distance is 350kilometres as the crow flies, butthe wolf’s route meant that it hadcovered three times that far.

Map Stefania Balbo

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1. Croatia2. Italy3. Norway4. Scotland5. Switzerland6. North America

Wolves of the World6

The battery in the trackingdevice is expected to last until July.

There are an estimated 500-600grey wolves in Italy. They areprotected but are often poisonedby farmers and shepherds toprotect stock.

Source:Richard Owen,The Times - 23 November 2004

NorwaySMS technology keeps wildwolf on the map Oslo - Norwegian researchershave recently used cellphonetext messaging for the first timeto track a young wolf thatcrossed the border fromneighbouring Sweden.

The wolf is tagged with atransmitter that transmits shorttext messages whenever theanimal is near a cellphonecommunication antenna.

"Via the SMS messages wereceive, we can locate where thewolf is, and we also get a timelog," researcher Petter Wabakkentold public broadcaster NRK.

The technology is cheap andenables the researchers to trackthe wolf which roams a largearea,Wabakken said.

The wolf has covered about 1000km since it left Sweden inearly June.

According to Wabakken mostwolves roam about 100-300km,but researchers are not sure howmany roam longer distances.

Young wolves which roamgreat distances are thought toconstitute the largest danger totame animals like sheep.

The tagged wolf has killedsheep and a request to shootit has been filed to authoritiesin the county of Nordlandthat straddles the Arctic Circle. -Sapa-dpa

Source:http://iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=qw1092820863117B256

ScotlandCall of the wild IT IS more than 250 yearssince the lonely howl of the wolfhas echoed in the farthestreaches of the Highlands, but ifPaul Lister gets his way, that willsoon change.

The millionaire businessmanwants to transform his estate inSutherland and Easter Ross into a

home for not only the Europeangrey wolf, but also the bear, lynx,boar and European bison whichwere once native to this land.

Lister’s vision is aconservationist’s dream and, inhis own words, one of the "mostsensational, inbound eco-tourismopportunities the Highlands haveever seen."

Others, less sympathetic, mightdismiss it as a furry-animalJurassic Park.

But whatever the objectionsLister will face in bringing thiscast of characters to a fencedwilderness on his Alladale estate,nobody could accuse his projectof smacking of the fly-by-night.

"I’ve been thinking about itfor 15 years and lookingfor somewhere like Alladale forseven years," says Lister, whopurchased the 153-square-mileestate last year.

As he sits in the lodge atAlladale, 12 miles west of BonarBridge, and within sight of someof the most northerly Caledonianpinewoods in the country, yousense Lister has waited longenough. "I’d like to think we couldachieve something within thenext five years," he says. "Thehabitat is perfect for theseanimals and we could do most ofthe reintroduction within a 12-month period, from the minutethe perimeter fence went up."

Whether Lister will be allowedto forge ahead at this pace is indoubt - and he knows it. ScottishNatural Heritage’s attempts ofthe past eight years to introducethe relatively "cuddly" Europeanbeaver to Scotland has beenfraught with minority, but vocal,opposition from forestry andfarming interests.

What the wider communitywill make of his plans toreintroduce Scotland’s "big five" isnot yet fully clear - but somecommentators believe he faces aHerculean task in convincing allthose with a legitimate interestthat his dream is a good idea.

Aware of this, , Lister helda conference at Alladale withthose who might be affectedby his plans. This includedneighbouring landowners, deermanagement groups, local smallfamers, estate workers otherinterested agencies - people hewill need to convince if his dreamis to be realised.

Speaking to The Scotsmanahead of the event, he

was resolutely upbeat, thoughrealistic.

"The community seems to beadopting the idea, and that’s evenbefore I’ve had the chance explainit fully," he said. "Obviously,it would be silly of me to goahead prematurely.

"So far there’s been nothingnegative, but I don’t suppose it’llbe too long before someone hassomething to say."

Lister is the son of Noel Lister,the co-founder of the MFIfurniture empire, but at the age of45, he has put the retail tradebehind him. Although hemaintains a family business basedin Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire,he now spends at least a weekevery month at Alladale.

Much of the remainder of histime is spent visiting conservationareas and game parks across theworld, particularly, Transylvania,where the pristine forestedlandscape of the RomanianCarpathian mountains boasts thehighest concentration of sizeablecarnivores anywhere in Europe.

It is here that much of hisconservation credentials havebeen honed - and those whichcould bring a tourism boost toAlladale, should his plans succeed.For the past few years he hasbeen active in the CarpathianLarge Carnivore Project, helpingit to develop a viable "eco-tourism" business.

He has also forged links withthe Mantis Collection, a SouthAfrican organisation whichcombines running two gamereserves, Shamwari and Sanbona,with quality tourism.

Lister has also looked to SouthAfrica for expert advice on thekind of secure fence that willencircle much of his estate:"There they’ve been used tocontrolling the ‘big five’. If theycan do that in Africa, I would havethought we could contain slightly-lesser creatures."

He laughs. "In this day and age,when they can put someone onthe moon, they can surely build afence to keep a bear in."

Lister hopes that this fence, his"halfway-house" approach will bekey to convincing the widerScottish community to welcomethe wolves and other beasts backto Scotland.

"I’m not advocating a generalreintroduction, but a controlledone, and that’s what’s important,"he says.

But his plans for Alladale areabout much more than puttingsome of our native animals backonto the hills.

His vision is based on what hecalls the "four Es - "environmentalrestoration, educationalenhancement, economic viabilityand employment opportunities,"and he adds a fifth, "to enhancecultural heritage."

Lister sees Alladale marryingconservation with "greentourism" in Scotland. Instead oftravelling all the way to Africa tospot the much-vaunted "Big Five"of elephant, lion, leopard, buffaloand rhino, visitors will be able towatch a Scottish "Big Five" ofwolf, bear, boar, lynx and bison.

He believes his animal parkcould create at least 30 local jobs,and he points to the economicspin-off associated with America’sYellowstone, or the "wolfhowlers" who escort enthusiastsin Alaska.

He is due to travel to NewJersey to visit the Willow Schools,based on holistic education,which he extols for theirinclusion on the curriculum oftopics such as environmentalissues and ethics. Within sixmonths, he says he hopes to havean educational unit, informedby these values, established onthe estate.

In the meantime, he maintainsrather more traditional deer-stalking at Alladale, although hehimself is no longer a shooter. "Ishot many deer in my twenties,but I’ve grown out of that and Iwant to see a bigger picture. Ibelieve there is something biggerout there we’re all missing."

Lister is not the first toadvocated the reintroduction ofwolves in the Highlands or islands- among them the late DavidStephen, for many years a widely-respected nature writer forThe Scotsman, who kept apair of wolves in an enclosureon his pioneering, PalaceriggCountryside Park, nearCumbernauld. Others, however,believe that to bring the wolfor other vanished speciesback to a landscape which hasbeen vastly transformed, andsettled, in the ensuing centuries,is simply inappropriate.

George Anderson, aspokesman for Scottish NaturalHeritage (SNH) believes thatamong many hurdles, Lister’sgreatest could be public opinion.

Wolves of the World 7

Our thanks to Pat Morris(Wolfseeker) for theregular supply of wolfnews from around theworld, and to AndrewMatthews for his sub-editing work. Articlesthat are reprinted infull are appropriatelycredited with theauthor’s name and detailsof where the article wasfirst published.

"We’ve had people in the pastsuggesting this kind of thing, butthey’ve never done anything.Thisis the first such idea I’ve comeacross in my time at SNH wherethe guy seems to be serious andhas some credentials. So, we’retaking it seriously and there willbe discussions."

Anderson points to SNH’s ownproposals for the reintroductionof the European beaver toScotland by way of a warningabout the power of publicopinion in such issues. "Scalingthat up to the large carnivoreshe has in mind, I would hopethat his thinking is quite long-term, indeed."

Also looking on with interestis Jeremy Usher Smith, managerof the Highland Wildlife Park, nearKingussie, which keeps a packof 11 wolves in a purpose-built three-hectare enclosure.Wearing his hat as a zooinspector for the ScottishExecutive, he also sees manypracticalities to be overcome.

"You need to meet Health andSafety regulations and all the restof it, and some sort ofmanagement of these animals sothey don’t roam. It wouldcertainly have to be looked at bythe local authority, which wouldbe the licensing authority and itwould seek advice from theScottish Executive."

Despite this, he believes that,effectively, Lister’s vision could befeasible. "I don’t know the estateor what the habitat is like, but itwould be great to bring theseanimals back, and it wouldprobably help take the fright outof them for some people."

Another problem for Listermay be the recently-legalised"right to roam." If, as of necessity,Alladale becomes securely fencedoff, might there be objectionsfrom walkers? "We can’t keepeveryone happy all of the time,"Lister says. "If we want to havethe benefits of what we’re talkingabout, there will have to be somecompromises. But I believe themajority of people wouldn’t minda small area of the Highlandsgiven over to this kind of use."

Bearing in mind the sort ofmoney it could bring the area,compromise might not be toohard to find in some quarters.

Guests who come to see thedreamed-of Alladale "Big Five"could pay as much as £20,000 fora week at the lodge, anddaytrippers will also be welcome."Everyone will be welcome. Ifthey want a walking tour, that’s

possible, but there would be acharge of some sort." Listerheaded off to New Yorkimmediately after his conferenceat Alladale, but a spokesman forthe estate described the event as"very productive, agreeable andgenerally positive." Perhapsrather tellingly, there were morequestions raised about the impactof traffic on access roads, and tickcontrol, than about "the moreemotive issues you might expect",he added.

Traditionally, the last Scottishwolf is said to have been killed -and decapitated, just to make sure- by a Highland hunter calledMacQueen in 1743.The bear hasbeen extinct here since the 10thcentury. Some supporters ofreintroduction, such as naturewriter Jim Crumley, prefer tobelieve "that the last wolf inScotland hasn’t been born yet."

Paul would like to think so, too."I’m completely driven and I’vegot lots of energy," he says.Withthe red tape he faces, he mayneed it.

Source:By Jim Gilchrist,The Scotsman –30 November 2004http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1374582004

SwitzerlandSwiss have wolf in their sightsSwitzerland wants to water downthe protection given to wolves inEurope, which would allow theanimal to be culled.

The Swiss government recentlypresented its proposal inStrasbourg to fellow signatoriesto the Convention on theConservation of EuropeanWildlife and Natural Habitats.

However, countries party tothe legal instrument, which is alsoknown as the Bern Convention,said they needed moreinformation on the environmentalimpact of the wolf before makinga decision.

The Swiss authorities want thewolf to be reclassified. Thepredator currently appears onthe list of "Strictly ProtectedFauna Species"; Switzerlandwould like to see it downgradedto a "Protected Fauna Species".

If the proposal were accepted,the wolf would have the samestatus in Switzerland as the lynx,allowing it to be shot understrict conditions.

An estimated three to sixwolves are thought to be presentin the country.

Under legislation introduced in

Switzerland in July this year,cantons can issue a licenceto kill if 35 farm animals fallprey to a wolf in the courseof four months, or 25 animals inone month.

Extinction fearsSince 1995, 14 wolves havewandered into Swiss territoryfrom France and Italy, accordingto Pro Natura, Switzerland’slargest conservation organisation.It said seven had been killedunder licence.

Pro Natura has criticised theSwiss proposal, fearing it couldlead to the extinction of the wolfin Europe.

The group has already launcheda campaign with the slogan,"Don’t let Switzerland killyour wolves!"

Switzerland could find supportfor its proposal among otherparties to the convention, whichcelebrates its 25th anniversarythis year.

Around 12 countries are saidto be unsure as to whether thewolf merits complete protection.

The convention aims toprotect wild species of flora andfauna in their natural habitats, inparticular endangered andvulnerable migratory species.

NORTH AMERICANature; Wolves' geneticdiversity worryingly low Nature News,Wolf eradication inthe US has had a far moredevastating impact on the geneticdiversity of remaining populationsthan previously thought, a newstudy reveals.

Although wolves weresystematically eradicated acrossNorth America over the lastcouple of centuries, it had beenthought that the human impacton the Canadian wolf population- which is currently a relativelyhealthy 70,000 - was minor.

Conservationists thereforeassumed that the Canadianpopulation had the same level ofgenetic diversity that had existedin the 19th century - prior to themass slaughter - and that small-scale re-introductions of thesewolves into the US would leadto diversity on a par with thisearlier period.

But these assumptions werewrong, according to researchersfrom the University of Uppsala,

Sweden, and the University ofCalifornia Los Angeles, US, wholooked at the genetic diversity ofthe original wolf populationsusing DNA analysis. They usedbone samples taken from greywolves dating from 1856 - held inthe National Museum for NaturalHistory in Washington DC - andcompared this genetic diversitywith that of modern wolves.

"We found a 43% drop ingenetic variability in the modernwolves," said Carles Vila, one ofthe team. "It is impossible for thewolf populations to recover thisimportant diversity, which enablesthem to adapt to differentenvironmental challenges."

Bears and lions Vila notes: "It takes thousands ofyears of naturally occurringmutations to build up suchdiversity. And if the Canadianwolves - with such a largepopulation remaining - have lostso much genetic variation, what isthe situation for otherendangered species in NorthAmerica, such as bears ormountain lions?"

Wild wolves from acrossNorth America were capturedand reintroduced to theYellowstone National Parkin Wyoming, US, 10 years agowith considerable success.For example, the population ofelk was reduced to moresustainable levels, allowingvegetation to recover.

It was hoped that choosingwolves from across the continentwould produce a populationwith high genetic diversity. Butthe new research shows this hasnot happened.

Source:http://www.keralanext.com/news/?id=69056

Wolves and bearsin France – agloomy future…

Wolves and bears in France – a gloomy futurex8

Following an initiative by the WWF, SPA andFERUS more than 3000 angry and sad Frenchcitizens of all ages gathered in Paris onNovember 6 to protest against thegovernment’s recent killing of two youngwolves (one male and one female) and thedeath of Cannelle, the last female bear inFrance of the pure Pyrenean breed, whowas shot illegally by an irresponsible hunteron November 1. Cannelle leaves a smallyearling cub behind whose chances forsurvival are slim.

In parallel 200, wolf defenders protested inNice and 350 others in Vercors where theshe-wolf was shot. A cairn was raised inmemory of the 18-month she-wolf at theplace of her killing. 250 citizens in the Valley ofAspe, in the Pyrenees, where Cannelle hadbeen killed, had also spontaneously decided togather in memory of « their » lost bear, thepride of their mountains and cultural heritage.

The idea to organise the demonstration inParis was launched late this summer followingthe government’s decision to shoot fourwolves at random before December 31, 2004.

In France the wolf, the bear and the lynxare all strictly protected by the BernConvention (signed by France in 1990), theEU’s Habitats Directive and local French law.As we all know potential derogations allowingto capture or cull wolves could only possiblybe considered when a wolf population is ingood conservation status or if there is arecurrent issue with an individual wolf whoattacks sheep flocks even when all preventionand protection measures (guarding dogs,

human presence and night parks) have beenput in place, tested and proven ineffective.None of this is the case in France. As suchthere is no justification whatsoever to kill,capture or cull any wolves. According to theIUCN France needs 20 packs and some 150wolves to reach a reasonable conservationstatus. Today France counts some 50 wolvessplit in 10-12 packs.

Where the she-wolf was killed there hadbeen no incidents of depredation. Moreoverall the sheep had left the mountains for thewinter period. Only wild sheep were around!The president of the Regional Park of Vercors,where the she-wolf was killed, issued a pressrelease to condemn the useless killing of thiswolf and reminded that the Park had beenproactively co-funding and implementingsuccessful protection measures incollaboration with the farmers. As a resultthere had been a significant decrease in wolfattacks (292 sheep killed in 2002 agaist 176 in2004). Moreover the Vercors region starts tosee the beginning of a real eco-tourismbecause of the known, permanent presence ofthe wolves.

Symbolic wolf funeral ceremony in Vercors on Nov. 6in memory of the she-wolf of 18 months killed onOctober 21. Photo: Roger Mathieu.

Cairn raised for the she-wolf of 18 months killed onOctober 21 in the Vecors. Photo: Roger Mathieu.

The co-habitation between humans andwolves is of course possible also in France.The French government has for the past 5years provided sufficient budget andresources to accompany and support thefarmers who understand that wolves andbears have the right to live in our mountainsas well and that new ways of doing things arenecessary. To that effect one of FERUS’ keyfield activities is Pastoraloup, an eco-voluntaryprogramme whose prime goal is to establish adialogue between ecologists and farmers toimprove the latters’ acceptance of wolves.Theeco-voluntaries help protect the flocksagainst attacks during the summer grazing inthe mountains. Pastoraloup is co-sponsoredby WWF and the SPA.

"The wolf and bear demonstration onSaturday 6 November was a resoundingsuccess. It is the first time in French historythat so many environment and wildlifeassociations gathered to publicly protestagainst the government’s neglect of wolf andbear conservation in our country", said LiseDonnez,Wolf Coordinator, FERUS, "But thisis only the beginning.We still have a long wayto go.We have engaged in an important publicdebate. Killing wolves is not going to solve theproblem of the French sheep farming. It hasother economic problems that have nothingto do with wolves", she continued, "Now weneed to keep momentum and put pressure onthe government to deliver a long-termreconversion plan for the ailing, over-subsidized *sheep farming, instil a priority forwildlife in the national and regional parks,launch systematic lawsuits against poachersand deliver a real conservation plan forwolves that is acceptable to all partiesinvolved. It is about time that we, the citizens,are heard", Lise Donnez concluded.

*France has 9 million sheep. More than 700,000 ofthem are "reconverted" every year (read : ends inslaughter-house because the farmers cease theiractivity). Sheep farming in France is subsidized byapprox. 60%. Since the natural return of the wolf inFrance in 1992 approx. 10,000 sheep have been killedby wolves (or "large canids"). If there is any doubt (wolfor dog) it is always decided that it is a wolf because thisallows the farmer to be reimbursed for the damage.Officially more than 250,000 sheep die every yearbecause of attacks by stray dogs.

Wolves and bears in France – a gloomy future 9

Facts and figures – wolves in France:

1990: France signs the Bern Convention.

1992: After 100 years of absence, the firstwolves (canis lupus italicus) reappearin France (National Park ofMercantour in Southern Alps) fromItaly.

1995: A public opinion survey concludesthat 80% of the French population isin favour of the presence of wolvesin France.

2002: The French government creates anofficial work-group to conductthroughout 6 months hearings withinterest groups, biologists, citizens,farmers and others concerned withwolves to determine in whatconditions wolves and farmers couldco-habit. Hidden objectives of theCommission are to prove :1) the wolf was reintroduced in

France and hence no right to beprotected

2) the wolf is dangerous for humans.

None of these objectives could ofcourse be reached, but a doubt wasleft that the wolf « may howeverhave been reintroduced » eventhough there was no scientificevidence.

2003: Conclusion of work group’s report :"Predators and farming in themountains : priority to humans". NB :This conclusion does not reflect thecontent of the almost 1000 pagesthat summarize all the hearings.

2003: Late in the year, a 6-month workinggroup is launched by the government(led by the Ministry of Ecology andMinistry of Agriculture) to come upwith a first recommendation for a"Wolf Action Plan" in France.WWF,

Paris wolf and bear protestmanifestation on Nov. 6.

Symbolic bear coffin insouvenir of Cannelle, illegallykilled by a hunter on Nov. 1.

Photo: Pascal Farcy &Louisa Mathelin.

Dear Santa Claus, ForX-mas I wold likeanimals in plush in myroom and real animalsin nature.Thanks, Julian.Photo: Pascal Farcy &Louisa Mathelin.

Paris wolf and bearprotest manifestationon Nov. 6. Symbolicceremony to show thatkilling of wolves isunacceptable.Photo: Pascal Farcy &Louisa Mathelin.

FNE and FERUS participate in thediscussions. However, it is quicklyunderstood that the objective of theinfluential Ministry of Agriculture isto find a way to eliminate wolveswith a good alibi. Hence the ONCFS(National Office for Hunting andWildlife) proposed using modelconclusions developed by universityscientists whereby one could reducethe current population by 10%without any conservation danger, aslong as management is adaptive andno zoning is enforced at all.TheMinistry of Agriculture wants to

Large Carnivore Initiativein EuropeThe Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE) is a network of European

organisations and experts from 25 countries working to secure viablepopulations of large carnivores in coexistence with people.The LCIE website has a wealth of information and is well worth a visit for

anyone interested in large carnivores.The site can be found at: www.lcie.org

immediately eliminate 10 wolves.Negotiations are engaged.The finaldecision is four. Regretfully neitherthe associations nor the Ministry ofEcology have power to influence achange to zero killing.

2004: Early August the governmentauthorises officially the killing of fourwolves before December 2004.TheONCFS (who also conducts fieldresearch on wolves) are entrustedwith the responsibility to manage thekilling of the four wolves.TheMinister of Agriculture promises amedal to the first agent who kills awolf ! Numerous associations reactwith competent lawyers accusing thegovernment for illegal conduct.Theauthorisations are momentarilywithheld after a judge’s examination,but then released again.

October 21, 2004: A she-wolf is of about18 months old is killed by the agentsof ONCFS in the commune ofBouvante (Drôme).

October 27, 2004: A male wolf of about2 years old is killed by the agents ofONCFS, in Taillefer (Isère).The wolfis said to be the Alpha of a pack of 3wolves.

Today: A number of associations have filedlawsuit against the government forpoaching, non-respect ofinternational engagements, etc.However, the agents of ONCFS arestill out there trying to kill anothertwo wolves………

Lise Donnez, Wolf Coordinator, FERUS,ldonnez@yahoo.com, tel : + 33 450 94 29 06.NB : I will be at « Carnivores 2004 » inSanta Fe.November 7, 2004.

10 Food Preference of the Grey Wolf in Karkas Hunting Prohibited Area, Iran

Food Preference of the Grey Wolfin Karkas Hunting ProhibitedArea, Iran

Food Preference of the Grey Wolfin Karkas Hunting ProhibitedArea, IranABSTRACTFor many people, wolves are the symbol ofhuman killers and thus, should be removed inany way. Many Iranian people still believe thatwolves attack whatever they find, e.g.,humans, livestock, children, elders and weakeranimals such as gazelles even though they canhunt other wildlife species.This article showswhenever wolves have enough food sources,they prefer to avoid human communities.With a decline in suitable food sources,distances between wolves and human will bereduced. What became clear to us throughour research was that the wolves neverattack people as food if other sources areavailable. These sources can be everythingfrom their original wild species, to domestichen houses and even municipal wastes. Thefood sources are the main reason to decreaseor increase buffer zone layers betweenwolves and humans. It must be mentionedthat non-permitted hunters are still a majorproblem for all wildlife species.

During past decade, there is only one caseof a human casualty caused by a wolf attack.

INTRODUCTIONFor many years, wolves have been known as aspecies which attacks people and humancommunities.They are perceived as monsters.Accordingly, the wolves are hunted and killedin a variety of ways: poisoning, trapping,shooting, destroying their burrows, etc.

In Iran, there is opposition to the wolves;and people believe that by eliminating them,the world will be a better place. Becausesheep, goats and other domestic livestockare present in wolf territory, there aremany reports about wolves being huntedevery year. The main reason to kill wolvesis that they will attack livestock, peopleand herdsmen.

METHODS AND MATERIALSThe study site was Karkas Hunting ProhibitedArea, located 400 km south of Tehran inIsfahan Providence, near the city of Natanz.This area has been known as a prohibitedarea since 1992. Karkas Prohibited Area hashad two lethal air crashes, causing more than200 casualties.

This area involves 85000 hec. It is a goodsymbol of an ecotone area because there is anoverlap of two or more different ecosystems.

There are two different climatic conditions atthe same time, being mountains which liebetween the other area which is a centraldesert. These mountains are the ZagrosMountain Range that begin from AzarbaijanProvidence in the northwest of Iran and reachto Sistan and Baluchestan in the southweast.They range over 2500 km. There are manyhigh peaks here, and the most important ofthem is Karkas at 3000 meters.

There is usually snow on the peaks thatcontain many fresh water bodies. They arecold and fresh even during the hot summers.The difference of temperature between anytwo places within the Karkas Prohibited Areacan be as much as 20 centigrade. There arealso hard wind gusts in the area, with speedsreaching as high as 100 kilometers per hour.

The area is separated in two parts: Northand South.There are differences between thetwo parts, in green cover, fresh water bodiesand soil productivity. There are 20 villagessurrounding Karkas, with 11 in the north andnine in the south, although some of thevillages in the southern part have far fewerpeople than the northern villages. There ismuch more rain in the north than in thesouth so people of the south sometimesmigrate to the north or to cities like Kashan,Ardestan, and Isfahan.

People of both areas are herdsmen withless dependence on agriculture than would beexpected.The herds are sheep and goats witha herd numbering upwards to 300 or more.Livestock for them is everything. Herdsmenmeet their needs by selling and buyinglivestock products like milk, cheese, andbutter. They then buy their unmet needs likehygienic materials, soap, and clothes.

We conducted 25 interviews withherdsman villagers. They told us that they are

concerned about wolves. The herdsmenreported that wolves attack their sheep andmake mass killings. In one reported case, awolf attacked and killed 23 sheep while he ateonly a lamb.

The herdsmen have rifles. Some of thetourists who come to this region also haveguns and are illegal hunters.They come fromKashan, Tehran, Isfahan and Ardestan cities.Finally, the non- permitted hunters who comefrom neighboring villages should be added tothis list.

The main game species of the area are Ibexand wild sheep.

Due to the legal and illegal hunting byhumans, the number of these species hasbeen decreased. In our interviews, thehunters believe that the wolf populationshould be removed because the wolves aredangerous for all and kill game that thehunters could also shoot.

People believe that wolves can’t co-existwith human communities because they eathumans. But what is the actual fact? Is it truethat wolves are ready to attack humans? Havethey only one choice? Or is there somethingabout them that we don’t know yet?

During our interviews we asked herdsmen:Have you ever seen wolves kill your livestock?Their answer was positive.

Have you ever lost any sheep or goats?Yes, they replied.They mentioned that they only HEARD

that the wolves have attacked some people,and they have never seen anybody who hadbeen attacked by wolves.

Then we asked herdsmen when did youlast see wolves? Their replies varied from fourmonths ago to over one year. Someof them told us that they could see wolvesevery night.

Kaveh Hatami1

& Mohammad S. Farhadinia2

Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS)

PREFACEIn Issue 16, Summer 2003,Wolf Print published an article by Sue M. Sefscik regarding the Iranian Grey Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes).The followingarticle is an update on the status and continuing research on the grey wolf in Iran.

Food Preference of the Grey Wolf in Karkas Hunting Prohibited Area, Iran 11

We researched wolf attack reports and sawthat the last attack was a decade ago.Previous to that, a serious attack hadhappened, but it happened in city of Ardestan,40 km east of Karkas. After shooting thewolf, it was confirmed to be an illness.

We wondered why the herdsmen told ussuch things?

We concluded it was fear of wolves and thefairy tales about them, the same problem thatwolves face all over the world.

So what would wolves eat if they don’tattack herdsmen?

According to biological documents, thewolves eat municipal trash-waste suchas bread, food, meat, and bone. They mayalso attack hen farms that may attractother carnivores.

The number of hen farms in the area ismore than 20, and we thought it might bepossible to see tracks of other carnivores.There were many prints of carnivore speciesaround the hen houses, such as fox, jackal,hyena and wolf.The hen farmers told us thatthey take away the hen wastes to an area 2 or3 km. away. Other times, most of the wastehas been eliminated by carnivores. When thewaste is taken away, a man familiar to thewolves does it, and they never attack him.

During our discussion with one of them, hetold us when he first started taking away thewaste, the carnivores used to avoid him andtried to hide themselves. But now, they knowhim and when he discharges the waste, theybegin their work and jump up and start to eatit even when he carries the garbage with hismotorcycle. They jump on and tear upplastics and eat the loads in a friendly manner.

When the wastes,mostly consisting of deadhens, bones, and feathers, are discharged,jackals first come to have a party. Then hewould see foxes and lastly the wolves. Whenwolves come, the others would leave thelocation as fast as they can.

When these wastes are left on the ground,more carnivores are attracted to it.

Natanz is the closest town to the Karkas.The Natanz municipal wastes are full ofcarbonic materials that can be used by somespecies, such as foxes.

The number of wolves in this area isremarkable. There are also dog- wolves here.Fox, jackal and hyena prints can be seen hereas well.

These carnivores fill an importantecological role by improving environmental

health through elimination of wastes andtrash when eaten by them.

In one case, the number of wolves and theirreactions to the human presence was veryinteresting.

We were in this area when a pack of wolvessaw us. They looked at us and then left usslowly. Then a pack of 4 wolves wereassessing us. We thought their eyes werelooking at us in surprise. The distancebetween us and the wolves was less than 30meters. We moved as close as 10 meterstowards them before they departed.

The situation differs in various areas. Inone instance, I was alone and the distance wasnear 700 meters. This pack consisted of twowolves which were gray in color.

During the interviews, herdsmen told usthat the maximum number of wolves in eachpack is usually three. Most of the wolves seenwere individuals, with pack size usually beingtwo. One herder told me that he had seena 5 wolves group, and they weren’t all thesame age.

The last conflict between wolves andherders seemed to be more than four monthsago. There was a report that claimed wolf hadattacked one of the herders the night beforeour interview. We did it over look, butconcluded it was false. It seems that thesewolves know them and try to avoid makingconflict with humans.

One of wolves’ food sources is hunting wildsheep and Ibex.The wolves try to hunt themif they cannot find food wastes.The number ofwild sheep and Ibexes is less than 1000. Wesaw several skulls and bones that led us tounderstand that wolves are the mainpredators of Karkas H.P.A.

Local people and authorities wereinterested in knowing if leopards still roamedthis area, but our searches showed that theleopards have left Karkas forever.

RESULTS:Generally wolves try to keep a securedistance from human communities, and thesize of it depends on the security situation oftheir habitat. However, if wolves feel secure,this distance will be decreased. If they haveplenty and secure food sources, there wouldbe no reason for wolves to encroach uponhuman communities.

Food resources for wolves can be brokendown into four sections:

1. Municipal wastes. This is their first priority.In the Karkas area, there is a special site forwaste.

2. Hen farms waste. This is their secondoption. There is no special site for it, sosome animals find it sooner than others.

3. Prey species. The number of available preyspecies has declined, therefore the chanceof wolves to have a successful hunt has alsodecreased. Most of them do not hunt andtheir diet has changed, however, somewolves still try to hunt.

4. Livestock. We can add to wolves list, butthe number of wolves that attack livestockhas decreased. During our search, wefound a dead lamb that supposedly had

been killed by wolves. But there was noevidence to prove it. This option isdangerous for wolves because most ofherders are armed or they have specialpoison for wolves.

5. Man-eating or human as food. This is thelast choice wolves, if it occurs at all. Thesewolves should be removed, because mostof them have a disease, which opens up thepossibility for them to infect other speciesand even humans.But in the Karkas hunting prohibited area, it

has been over 10 years that the wolves haveattacked anybody, and they have shown thatmost things that people think about themonly come from human fiction and storytelling, not nature and the facts.

Wolf den.

CONCLUSIONThe wolves’ food aptitude is hunting, and theyprefer to have a separated area from humancommunities. But if a wolf ventures passedtheir borders, the reaction against him ispredictable, and the wolf is the loser. Theycan’t win against weapons and poisons thatherders use to kill wolves. An increase infacilities there has lead to an increase inroads. These roads are ones that illegalhunters can use too. As a result, the numberof suitable wolf-game has decreased. Peoplecould remember large packs of gazelles, wildgoats, and sheep. There were also leopards.But today, the leopards and gazelles have leftKarkas and others are close to destruction.

This means the Karkas wolves have tochange their diets. By decreasing the gamepopulation, the wolf population has decreasedtoo. Human damage of their natural habitatmeans that the number of wolves and otherpredators has also gone down. It seems to usthat the wolves in Karkas are joining theleopards towards disappearance.

Reference:Farhadinia, M. Hatami, K. (2003) Identificationof carnivore species of Karkas huntingprohibited area and their conflict with thehumans.Isfahan provincial DOE. In press.Ziaee, hooshang. (1996) Field guide ofmammals of Iran DOE .Reports on wolves from 1990 to 2001,DOE.Reports on infectious diseases amongCanidae (2000) DOE. Unpublished.

12 Controversial origins: a story of wolves, conspiracy, black helicopters and things that go bump in the night

Nobody doubts that Scandinavianwolves are back, but the questions arewhere did they come from and how didthey make the journey? A web ofconspiracy theories have been woven byanti-wolf groups, invoking helicopters,late night border crossings andclandestine releases perpetuated byextremist wolf-lovers. However, modernscience has shown exactly what wolvesare capable of doing when left to theirown devices.

Scandinavian wolves were functionallyextinct as far as being a reproducingpopulation was concerned when they wereprotected in 1966 in Sweden and 1971 inNorway.Apart from an isolated reproductionin northern Sweden in 1978 (these wolveswere rapidly killed, both legally and illegally)no reproductive activity was seen until 1983when it was confirmed that pups had beenborn in southern Sweden. Since then, thepopulation has grown to its present level ofabout 100 wolves spanning the border ofsouthern Norway and Sweden.

As readers are no doubt aware, the verypresence of these wolves is highlycontroversial with respect to depredation onlivestock, the killing of hunting dogs andcompetition with hunters for game. However,one of the biggest conflicts has been aboutwhere these wolves have come from, and howthey managed to make it all the way tosouthern Scandinavia. This debate hasproduced an amazing tangle of conspiracytheories, with leading anti-wolf advocatesclaiming that the wolves had been released bythe government, by scientists, by the WWF, byzoos, in fact by just about anybody.Witnesseshave been bought forward claiming to haveseen cars with loaded with caged wolvescrossing over the border from Sweden to

Norway at night, that they have seenhelicopters overhead, that they have seenwolves jumping out of the backs of vansparked along forest roads and even highways,that they have tracked down cases of peopleimporting wolves illegally from Estonia, and soon. The human imagination, when left to itsown devices, knows no limits! Books havebeen written and published, and TVdocumentaries filmed proclaiming variationsof this conspiracy theory without one iota ofprovable fact. One Swede claims he hasdefinitive proof hidden in his safe, but will notallow it to be released until after his death.Local newspapers are full of letters to theeditor stating it as a fact that the wolves arereleased. The anti-wolf argument goes that ifthe wolves have not come naturally thenthere is no need to conserve them, so theycan all be removed. Can there by any truth toall this? Do we need to invoke conspiracy toexplain biology? What does the science say?

The theory about their origins that hasbeen most widely accepted by researchersfrom the start is that the wolves had comenaturally from Russia or Finland, with thepossible addition of some few survivors of theoriginal Scandinavian population. Tissue andblood samples have been stored from many ofthe wolves that have been captured forresearch or found dead during the last 20years. In addition, samples have been takenfrom zoo animals that represent the originalScandinavian population, and from bonesstored in museum collections. Geneticistshave been able to extract DNA from all theseanimals and reconstruct what has actuallyhappened. The data clearly shows that thewolves presently roaming southernScandinavia are of Finnish – Russian origins.They can detect no remains of the originalScandinavian genes which rules out both the

Controversialorigins: a story ofwolves, conspiracy,black helicopters andthings that go bumpin the night

role of survivors from the original populationand the clandestine release of captive wolvesof Scandinavian origin.Apart from one distinctepisode where a female wolf successfullymated with a dog they can also exclude theidea that all the wolves are escaped pethybrids. It is also interesting that even in thecentury old museum samples they can detecta handful of individuals that also appear tohave been of Finnish – Russian origin – longbefore anybody dreamed up reintroductionideas. This genetics work clearly identifiestheir origin – but the question remains didthe wolves make it on their own?

The border area between Finland andRussia was the closest potential source fornatural colonization at that time as Finlandhad also almost managed to eradicate wolvesduring the mid 20th century. However, thedistance from the Finno-Russian border tothe site of the 1983 reproduction isapproximately 1000 to 1200 km! Can a wolfreally travel that far? During the last 30 yearsin North America many, many hundred wolveshave been radio-collared in Alaska, Canada,Minnesota etc.We were able to find publisheddata on the distance traveled by 298 juvenilewolves that had been tracked or recovereddead after having dispersed from the packwhere they were born. The distances weretruly staggering! The record was 890 km asthe crow flies (about the distance fromLondon to Inverness) and at least 21individuals had dispersed over 300 km. Thesedistances must also be regarded as minimumsbecause many wolf studies have hadindividuals that simply vanish beyond thedistance they can be detected. Furthermore,when all the twists and turns were taken intoaccount one individual had moved 4200 km inonly 180 days. Unmarked wolves have alsobeen found (usually shot or killed in collisions

by John D C Linnell

13Controversial origins: a story of wolves, conspiracy, black helicopters and things that go bump in the night

with cars) many hundred kilometers (up to700) from the nearest source population. Allthis data testifies to their enormous dispersalpotential. Although the distance between theFinno-Russian border and south Scandinavia isslightly further than the longest publisheddispersal distance, it is clearly within thecapability of a wolf to walk the distance.Besides the distance is potentially shorter inwinter if wolves crossed the ice on the frozenBaltic sea.Throughout the arctic, wolves havedemonstrated the ability to traverse stretchesof sea ice of up to 70 km – much further thanthe longest necessary leg of an island-hoppingBaltic crossing. Finally, the data that Finnishand Scandinavian wolf researchers are startingto collect shows that their wolves really domove between the different countries.

These data indicates that wolves could havemade the journey from the nearest sourcepopulation on their own, so there is no needto invoke clandestine releases. However, onthe other hand it is impossible to rule themout. Reintroduction has been used quitecommonly in Europe to reestablish orreinforce lynx and bear populations.The onlywolf reintroduction that is known fromEurope was in the then Soviet republic of

Georgia in the 1980’s, although wolves havebeen recently reintroduced with greatsuccess in parts of the United States. Amongthe European lynx reintroductions it is wellknown that a number of unplannedclandestine releases occurred in Switzerlandand Germany, so such things do actuallyhappen. There are also well known caseswhere captive wolves have escaped, forexamples from the Bavarian National Parksenclosures in the 1970’s. Interestingly, theclandestine release of wolves has become awidespread myth throughout parts of Europewhere there populations have started torecover.You encounter the same tales of blackhelicopters and researchers driving aroundwith trucks full of wolves in Norway, Sweden,Croatia, Spain, France and Italy.While none ofthis can be disproved, the point is that wherewolves are concerned their natural dispersalability is so great you just do not need toinvoke these clandestine explanations toexplain their reappearance.

So why do people go to such great lengthsto construct conspiracy theories? Socialscientists working with the topic speculatethat it is because anti-wolf advocates oftenclaim to have a deep love for nature – at least

for a pastoral or Arcadian form of naturewhere wolves and other predators areabsent.They instinctively hate the wolf on itsreturn because of both tradition and realconflicts. However, this creates an internalconflict – how can they love nature but hatethe wolf? The answer is that by making thepresence of the wolf artificial and unnatural(the result of an illegal human release) theyconceptually remove it from nature and cantherefore continue loving "nature" andhating wolves.

This debate about natural or assistedcolonization is going to become increasinglyimportant as wolves continue to appear inunexpected places – for example westernFinland, eastern Germany, the FrenchPyrenees, or the Madrid province in Spain –often some distance away from the mainpopulation concentrations where people aremore accustomed to their presence. In manyways this showcases the ability of wolves toadapt as they reoccupy their old hauntsdespite what we have done to the habitat inthe century that they have been gone. At thesame time, the sometimes bizarre nature ofresultant conflicts reminds us of howintractable old prejudices and attitudes can be.

Photo:Andrew Lilley

14 UK Wolf Conservation Trust Autumn Seminar October 2004

UK Wolf Conservation TrustAutumn Seminar October 2004UK Wolf Conservation TrustAutumn Seminar October 2004

THE 2005 UKWCT CALENDAR

NOW ON SALE

Contact the Trust Centre on : 0118 971 3330Or visit the website at: www.ukwolf.org

The speakers at the Autumn Seminar wereJohn Denness and Jorgelina Marino. Both gaveentertaining talks which were appreciated byeveryone who attended.

The seminar was held at the local schooland Village Hall in Beenham, with delegatesspending time with the Trust’s wolves atthe Centre.

John Denness gave the first talk whichincluded a potted history of the Trust, and alife history of the Trust’s three Europeanwolves whose parents were imported fromEastern Europe, and whose lineage is not toofar removed from their wild cousins.

The audience was treated to numerousslides which have never been made publicuntil now, including pictures of Rogerand Colin who made the trip to Europeto bring back the Trust’s three originalEuropean wolves.

John is one of the longest servingvolunteers at the Trust, and has probablyspent the longest amount of time with thewolves. He is responsible for Wolf Welfare atthe Trust and also has the "chore" of seeingthe wolves settled in their shelters each night.John has formed a very close bond with all ofthe Trust’s wolves, and this was very apparentin some of the slides shown. He has the verygreat privilege of being seen as a "packmember" by the wolves.

The second speaker, Jorgelina Marino, hasbeen working with the Ethiopian WolfConservation Project for some time. She ismarried to Claudio Sillero who was part ofthe original team responsible for this project.

The article in this issue is based onJorgelina’s talk at the seminar. You can readthrough this at your leisure to gain anunderstanding of the issues surrounding oneof the most endangered wolves in the world.

Like previous seminars, this one was a great

success and enjoyed and appreciated byeveryone who attended, and by thevolunteers who help out on the day. Creditfor organising the seminar goes to ToniShelbourne who now works with militaryprecision to make sure the day runs smoothly,but enjoyable. The support of all thevolunteers also makes each seminarsuccessful. These are dedicated people whogive up a lot of their spare time for the benefitof wild wolf conservation.

Photo: Dominic Earl

Jorgelina Marino and Claudio Sillero with their daughter Pampa and John Denness

Photo: Martin Harvey

15Highland gods: Ethiopian wolves' perilous existence in Afroalpine enclaves

Highland gods: Ethiopianwolves’ perilous existencein Afroalpine enclavesEthiopian wolves are arguably the rarestcanids in the world. Yet, until recently theworld knew very little about them. Thehighland peoples of Ethiopia always coexistedwith these handsome, jackal-looking animalsthey call jedala farda or ky kebero, but fieldbiologists only started to thoroughly studythem in the late 1980s. Pioneer work byOxford University’s Claudio Sillero and DadaGottelli in the Bale Mountains of SouthernEthiopia unveiled the intricate details of theirecology and complex sociality. Surprisingly fora carnivore of its size (12-20kg) the Ethiopianwolf depends almost exclusively on the smallrodents that thrive in the Afroalpinegrasslands and meadows.While wolves foragesolitarily, they live in packs and show highlevels of cooperation, helping to raise thepups of the dominant pair and defend acommunal territory.

The studies in Bale illustrated ingeniousadaptations of a carnivore specialized toexploit a rich but geographically restrictedprey. As a consequence, Ethiopian wolves arevirtually trapped in their island kingdoms,where they compete for a limited number ofbreeding territories.The perilous existence ofsuch a marvellous animal prompted Claudioto establish the Ethiopian Wolf ConservationProgramme (EWCP) in 1995, amidst a climateof political unrest and the threat of diseasejeopardizing the persistence of these veryspecial creatures. Today the EWCP is themost successful conservation programme inthe country, focusing on the wolves but alsopledging for the protection of high altitudeecosystems, which mean so much for thelivelihoods of mountain people and thesurvival of a unique array of endemic animaland plant species.

I had the opportunity to join the EWCPteam in 1997 as the resident ecologist andvisited the most remote mountains inEthiopia in search of the remaining wolfpopulations.The political climate had changedand the possibility arose to fully assess thestatus and distribution of wolves nationwide.The Born Free Foundation, the NationalGeographic and UKWCT supported a seriesof very exciting expeditions to exploredistant mountains in five different regionsin Ethiopia.

Our current understanding of the wolves’biogeography suggests that they evolved from

Highland gods: Ethiopianwolves’ perilous existencein Afroalpine enclaves

by Jorgelina Marino

Eurasian wolf-like ancestors that colonizedthe highlands of Ethiopia as recently as100,000 years ago. The warming of theclimate during the last deglaciation broughtabout a severe reduction of the Afroalpinehabitats to which wolves so successfullyadapted. With the recent upward expansionof people, Afroalpine habitats became virtualislands in mountaintops, immerse on sea ofagriculture fields. At the time of ourexpeditions, wolf populations were betterknown in Bale and Central Shoa range, and toa lesser degree in the Simien Mountains in thenorth -where the Ethiopian wolf was firstdescribed. Elsewhere, information was limitedto a few sporadic records. We were nicelysurprised by finding small wolf populationsstill surviving in almost every sizeable patch ofAfroalpine range visited. Our surveysconfirmed the existence of seven isolatedpopulations.The smallest lived in a tiny rangeof a mere 50km_, and consisted of as few as15 wolves.At the other end of the spectrumBale is still undoubtedly the largest and mostimportant population with some 250 animals.We also confirmed the local extinction ofwolves in Mount Choke some100 years ago,and the recent disappearance of wolves intwo areas that simply became too small tosustain a viable population.

While the global estimate of 500 wolvesdid not differ much from previousapproximations, more discrete populationsmeant better chances for the long-termpersistence of the species! The small size ofmost extant populations accredits that thespecies has certain resilience, and is probablyadapted, to the effects of habitat loss andisolation. But small populations, especially ifisolated, are particularly vulnerable toenvironmental and biological factors leadingpopulations into the vortex of extinction.Oursurveys indicate that habitat loss is the singlemost threatening factor, although events ofrabies outbreaks such as those in Bale canhave catastrophic effects upon smallpopulations. In the heavily populatedNorthern Highlands subsistence agriculturehas pushed the altitudinal limit of naturalvegetation at altitudes as high as 3,900m – andmore commonly at 3,700m.While the highestpeaks still support vast Afroalpine areas,wolves in lower-lying ranges, with more arableland, risk extinction in the face of further

habitat loss. The recent disappearance ofwolves in habitat patches reduced to 20km_is a shocking example. On the other hand,persecution is a threat that appears to havediminished with time since the end of theperiod of political upheaval.Where wolves arekilled, the conflict due to livestock predationwas more profound. Our study of wolf dietunearthed very few livestock remains, but weenvisage that under current trends of humanpopulation growth conflicts will go on theraise. More livestock will probably lead tomore predation by wolves, overgrazing toprey depletion, and the construction of newroads to drastic loss of suitable habitats.

Information gathered during theexpeditions led the EWCP to allocate newresources towards the monitoring andprotection of the small northern populations.Presently the EWCP is active in all fivepopulations north of the Rift valley. Regularvisits by EWCP teams to these remote areascan have the immediate effect of raisingawareness of the plight of this animal of whichEthiopians are very proud. The programmealso monitors packs and populations andwork with schools, communities and the localgovernment. This is a highly valuable effort,because although the existence of variousrelict populations is a good omen, thesepopulations are surviving on an edge. Themore I learnt about the reality of both peopleand wolves in the highlands of Ethiopia, themore profound was my perception of theimmensity of the task ahead. Fortunately,a group of enthusiastic people andorganizations continue working to give thesemountain gods a helping hand, protectingnatural resources that are vital for all theinhabitants of these mountains.

Photo:A.L. Harrington

Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains National Park16

textEthiopia’s BaleMountains NationalParkEthiopia doesn’t typically conjure images ofwildlife spectacles, but with 70% of the landover 3000 m in Africa and 73% of allAfroalpine vegetation, the country is rich inbiodiversity and high in endemism. Nestledwithin the country’s mountainous expanse,the Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) insouth-eastern Ethiopia protects the largestpiece of Afroalpine habitat on the continentand features the second largest stand offorest in Ethiopia. For those outdoorenthusiasts interested in mountaindestinations, the high altitude Afroalpineplateau rises to over 4,000 m and includes thesecond highest peak in Ethiopia – TulluDeemtu (4,377 m). The southern slopes ofthis massif are covered by the lush and largelyunexplored Harenna Forest (1,500 - 2,200 m)– a moist tropical forest where unknownspecies abound. With so varied a landscape,the BMNP is certainly not without a widediversity of secrets and splendors.

The highlands of Ethiopia are a biodiversityhotspot harbouring an assemblage of speciesthat evolved in complete isolation and aretherefore found nowhere else in the world.This makes the Ethiopian highlands a place ofincredibly high endemism.The Bale Mountainsare no exception to this. Here you will findmany species of mammals, birds, amphibians,and plants found only in Ethiopia and in somecases only in Bale.With such a high diversityof wildlife and endemism, the BMNP is acrucial protected area for a significant portionof Ethiopia’s and the world’s biodiversity.Therivers, streams, and swamps in the Bale massifalso comprise a vitally important watershed

Ethiopia’s BaleMountains NationalPark

serving the lowlands of south-easternEthiopia, Somalia and northern Kenya.These areas combined support approximately1 million people and comprise a large partof the unique semi-arid and arid Horn ofAfrica ecosystems.

The park was originally established in 1969to protect the endangered mountain nyala.With fewer than 3,000 mountain nyalaremaining in the world, the BMNP sustainsthe largest and only protected population ofthis endangered antelope. Mountain nyalaflourish in the high-altitude woodland andshrub dominated valley that makes up thenorthern end of park and the area around thepark headquarters. Female mountain nyala livein groups with their calves and are oftenaccompanied by one or two adult maleslooking for breeding opportunities. Malesestablish dominance hierarchies bychallenging each other in ritualized, struttingdisplays that, in severe cases, includeprolonged clashes of horns with each animalvying for the next opportunity to join a groupof breeding females.

With males weighing up to 280 kg andstanding about 1.5 m at the shoulder, thisstrikingly large and graceful species is astunning encounter.Visitors need only take anevening walk around the juniper and Hageniaforest surrounding the park lodge to get aglimpse of this Ethiopian endemic at closerange.The animals are shy but plentiful in thissmall enclave outside the main boundary ofthe park. Trips to the Gaysay Valley at thenorthern extreme of the park will also revealnumerous groups of mountain nyala along

with warthogs, Bohor reedbuck, greyduiker, and Menelik’s bushbuck – anotherEthiopian endemic subspecies. Rarer wildlifeappearances in the Gaysay Valley will bemade by serval cats, common jackals,Ethiopian wolves, and -later in the day -spotted hyaenas.

The Bale Mountains also host the largestpopulation of the rare and endangeredEthiopian wolf. With approximately 500animals remaining throughout the country,the Ethiopian wolf is arguably the rarest andmost imperiled wild canid in Africa, if not theworld.The species exists in only seven small,isolated mountain ranges in Ethiopia. Anestimated 300-350 Ethiopian wolves inhabitthe vast expanse of Afroalpine habitat above3000 m in the Bale Mountains.The Afroalpineis also dominated by a staggeringly highdensity of rodents – the primary food itemfor the Ethiopian wolf. A total of 16 speciesof rodents are found in the BMNP. Eight ofthese are endemic to Ethiopia, including thegiant mole rat which is endemic to Bale.Thisenigmatic 1 kg rodent, which does not strayfar from its burrow entrance, is the preferredfood item of Ethiopian wolves in theBale Mountains.

The abundant rodent fauna of the BaleMountains is also primarily responsible forsustaining the incredibly high density ofraptors. Golden eagles, Augur buzzards,Imperial eagles, black eagles, tawny eagles,steppe eagles, lanner falcons, kestrels, andLammergeier vultures are all found here.TheBale Mountains are also one of Ethiopia’smost important bird areas with seasonalconcentrations of waterbirds in addition tothe diverse raptor assemblage. Among Bale’s16 endemic bird species, sightings of wattledibis, blue-winged geese, thick-billed raven, andspot-breasted plover are exceptionallycommon.

The largely unexplored Harenna forestharbours a completely different variety offlora and fauna to that found on theAfroalpine plateau. Multi-disciplinary researchexpeditions are needed to learn more aboutthe fascinating ecosystems within the moist-tropical, bamboo and cloud forests and thespecies they sustain. Among those speciesalready known to dwell here, black and whitecolobus monkeys, baboons, bushbuck,warthog, giant forest hog, and bushpig arecommon. Nocturnal animals include genets,civets, bush babies and hyenas. Lucky visitorsmight also get a glimpse of lion, leopards, orwild dogs.

by Deborah Randall and Alastair Nelson

Photo:Alastair Nelson

17Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains National Park

Trekking in the Bale MountainsNational ParkThe Bale Mountains offer outdoor and wildlifeenthusiasts a uniquely different Africanexperience. Trekking is the most popularactivity for tourists visiting the area and thebest way to enjoy the variety of spectacularlandscapes and wildlife harboured within thepark. Trekking routes ascend along the manylava outpourings that have given shape to thedeep valley walls and rocky peakscharacterising the Bale Mountains. Intrepidtravellers will also bear the cold winds torelish the open expanse of Afroalpine habitaton the Sanetti Plateau, including the manyglacial lakes, spectacular canyons, and thesummit of Ethiopia’s second highest peak.Waterfalls, caves, and incredible vistas arefurther attractions of the park that can bediscovered on foot or on horseback.Wildlife isabundant and easily seen in the openlandscape. A group of wolves patrolling in thedistance or a lone wolf stalking a giant molerat hole are frequent sights for visitors to theWeb Valley or Sanetti Plateau. Bird enthusiastsare equally rewarded with spectacles of Augurbuzzards and tawny eagles soaring in thethermal currents overhead.Conservation of the Bale MountainsNational ParkThe social, economic, and biologicalsignificance of the Bale Mountains, coupledwith its intrinsic natural beauty, providecompelling justification for the local, nationaland international importance of thisecosystem. It is thus fortunate to know that alarge part of this system is protected withinthe 2200 km2 Bale Mountains National Park.However, as might be expected in one of thepoorest countries in the world with aburgeoning population, the park and theecosystem that it was established to protectare under threat. With approximately 8,000households in and around the BMNP, there isa significant demand for space and limitedresources. Most notably, agricultural expansionon the high-altitude plains surrounding themountains and increased livestock grazing putthe long-term security of the park at risk.Since it was established, permanentsettlements within the park boundaries havegrown exponentially and the seasonalmovement of people and their livestock intothe park continues to increase.

Loss of habitat due to the expansion ofhuman and domestic livestock populations isindeed the most serious threat to theecosystem and wildlife. Transmission ofinfectious diseases from domestic dogs toEthiopian wolves is a serious and immediatethreat to the persistence of the species in Baleas well as other parts of Ethiopia.Indiscriminate poisoning of hyenas to preventlivestock predation has lead to the illegal killingof wolves within the park. In the Harennaforest, extraction of fuelwood and non-timberforest products, in addition to wildlifepoaching, are occurring at unsustainable rates.As in the rest of the park, the dearth ofinformation about the forest ecosystem orpresent levels of resource use currentlyimpedes effective conservation action.

The overall challenges facing the park arenot trivial. Limited human and financialresources and lack of sufficient support forprotected area management in Ethiopiacurrently hamper the safeguarding of this vitalecosystem and its wildlife. Furthermore, manyof the households are poor and alreadydependent on the park and its resources fortheir livelihoods. Practical solutions to theconservation needs of the park require a goodunderstanding of the natural ecosystem andthe level of resource use that it can sustain.Mechanisms for collaborative decision-makingand natural resource protection between thepark and communities must also be developed.The Ethiopian Wolf ConservationProgrammeThe Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme(EWCP) is at the forefront of conservationactivities in the Bale Mountains (and otherwolf areas in Ethiopia). In response to theEthiopian wolf’s risk of imminent extinction,the EWCP was established in 1995 to identifyand counteract the threats to the survival ofthe species. Among the major activities theEWCP undertakes are continuous wolfmonitoring to verify the status of thepopulation, education within communities toincrease local environmental awareness, andvaccination of domestic dogs in the area toreduce the persistent threat of diseasetransmission to the wolf population. Theprogramme has also acted as a catalyst forother conservation initiatives by facilitatingthe involvement of other organisation in theBale Mountains.

The importance of conservation action toprotect this species became apparent in late2003 with the outbreak of rabies in a criticalsubpopulation of wolves in the BMNP. Therabies outbreak killed 78% of 95 wolvesoccupying the Web Valley - formerly Ethiopia’shighest density wolf area. In response to theoutbreak, the EWCP trapped and vaccinated69 Ethiopian wolves in areas outside of theWeb Valley to prevent the ongoing spread ofthe disease. As a result of the EWCP’s activewolf monitoring team and the success of thewolf vaccination campaign, we can confirm thatthe rabies outbreak did not spread to other

areas. The population in the Web Valley hasalso stabilized after the sudden crash innumbers and will hopefully start to recoverwith the upcoming breeding season. EWCP’songoing work in the Bale Mountains iscritically important to ensure the long-termsurvival of this highly endangered canid.Frankfurt Zoological SocietyIn recognition of the importance of the BaleMountains as a biodiversity hotspot and vitalwatershed, Frankfurt Zoological Society(FZS) became involved in the BMNP in 2004.The main aim of the FZS-Bale MountainsConservation Project is to support thedevelopment of a properly managed andbetter secured Bale Mountains National Parkwhile ensuring the long-term protection andsustainable use of its resources. The mainactivities include working intimately with staffof the BMNP and local authorities tostrengthen park operations and staff capacity,facilitating the development of tourism as anincome generating activity within the area,and increasing the flow of benefits from thepark to local communities.The first two yearsof the project focus on developing parkinfrastructure, helping to provide thenecessary equipment to re-establish scoutpatrolling, facilitating dialogue with thecommunities, initiating research andmonitoring, investigating the legal frameworkof the park, and facilitating eco-tourismactivities. With its proven record of effectivepark support in Africa, FZS’s commitment is atimely and vital part of the consortium ofefforts aimed at the long-term protection ofthe BMNP.

In addition to working with park staff andmanagement, both EWCP and FZS alsocooperate in close partnership with otherNGOs and local authorities working for thebenefit of the park and towards theconservation of its natural resources.There isthus promise that the growing number ofconservation initiatives in the Bale MountainsNational Park will give birth to thepartnerships and develop the mechanismsthat are needed to ensure a lasting future forthe park and its vast number of dependents –local communities and wildlife alike.

Photo:A.L. Harrington

A Year of Change for the Druids in Yellowstone18

A Year of Changefor the Druids inYellowstone

A Year of Changefor the Druids inYellowstone

I stood at the road side on our last morningon a cold February morning watching theDruid Pack through the spotting scope. Thishad become a ritual at the end of each of ourvisits – I was saying goodbye to the Alpha pairof 42F and 21M and to 21M’s son 253M. Mythoughts went across the Lamar Valley tothem – "stay safe, stay healthy and see younext time".

42F and 21M in 2003 were in their eighthyear and alphas of what is probably the mostphotographed wolf pack – The Druid Pack.Contrary to all the expectations of the WolfProject at the beginning – people can come toYellowstone and see wolves, especially theDruids who set up ‘home’ in the Lamar Valley.Will this always be the case though?

Since the reintroduction of the wolves toYellowstone in 1995 the population hasgrown quickly, with the amazing Druidsreaching 32 wolves at one time – apparentlythe biggest wolf pack ever recorded. In thesummer months Yellowstone now not onlysuffered from ‘bear jams’ on the roads butalso ‘wolf jams’. Over 264 wolves arecurrently alive. A few non-collared wolves,not associated with packs do roam the area.There are about 40 packs and groups. Toqualify as a breeding pack a female and malemust raise young to December 31. Wolfgroups are newly formed associations that arenot considered packs because they have notproduced offspring.

In January 2004 we heard the sad news that42F had been killed in a territorial dispute

with another pack. In our February 2004 visitwe learnt that there was still ‘life in the oldwolf yet’ as 21M had teamed up with 286F. Itwas great to see the old man still runningthings in the Druid territory. Not only did hehave a new young mate but they alsoproduced a litter of pups.

In June 2004 21M’s collar stopped sending asignal. Wolf watchers started to concentrateon finding 21M. After a time it was assumedthat he had died. A great sadness was felt byeveryone involved with the wolves inYellowstone. Many hoped that, like hismother before him, that 21M’s body wouldnever be found. An employee of Xanterra,who run the lodging facilities in the Park, washiking out in the back country and cameacross the body of a wolf – it was identified as21M. He had been killed during a hunt. Hehad probably been kicked by an elk and agehad caught up with him and his speed andagility were not what they were. The WolfProject team had really hoped that thesetwo would make it to 2005 for thetenth anniversary.

With the death of these two Alphas in theirninth year the Druids were left leaderless.21M’s son 253M became the natural heir butwould he be able to hold on to this? 253Mwas one of a number of young wolvesattacked a few years ago by the Mollie Pack atthe Druid rendezvous. By the time the rest ofthe pack had returned in response to the callsfrom the juvenile wolves 253M had a damagedleft back leg. He is easy to pick out in the pack

as he trails this back leg and rarely puts anyweight on it. Despite this he went off for anexploration of the USA and was found in acoyote trap some 200 miles away. He wascollected and brought back part of the way toYellowstone as bad weather prevented himbeing transported all the way. He wasreleased still a fair distance away from ‘home’(the Lamar Valley’) with not only a bad leftback leg but now with a damaged front pawfrom the coyote trap. No one thought theywould see him again but within a matter ofweeks he turned up again in the Lamar Valleyand has been there in the number two spotever since.

I spoke with Jim Halfpenny and GeorgeBumann this September about the future ofthe Druids. They both felt that there is apossibility that it will split as there is anewcomer on the block – 302M who is amember of a group. So who is going to be thenew Alpha male of the Druids 253M or 302M?Will the Druid Pack survive this turmoil?Time will tell. Perhaps after our next visitin February 2005 we will be able to answerthe question.

Next year is a very special year as it will bethe 10th anniversary of the reintroduction ofthe wolves to Yellowstone National Park.There is a feeling that the number of wolvesin the Park will never be as great as this again.The prey species had no real predator from1926 to 1995. Their avoidance tactics had notbeen a priority during that time. In the last 10years they have had to re learn how to avoidthe wolves. Without the number of easy preythe number of wolves may well drop back.

We are looking forward to visiting againin February 2005 as we feel this could bea vital time of change with the wolvesof Yellowstone. We still have a fewplaces available in our group for departurein February. If you are interested thenplease contact us as soon as possible formore information.

Kirsty PeakeWinter Wolf DiscoveryPark CottageWidecombe in the MoorNewton AbbotTQ13 7TR

Email: wwd@kajpeake.ndo.co.uk

Kirsty Peake

©Dan and Cindy Hartmanwww.wildlifealongtherockies.homestead.com

19Book review

Biology and Conservation ofWild Canids Edited by David W. Macdonald,University of Oxford and ClaudioSillero-Zubiri, University of Oxford

Paperback 432 pages (May 2004)£39.99 Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0198515561

Hardcover 464 pages (May 2004) £80 Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0198515553

● The definitive book on the dog family ● A must-have book for anyone studying

carnivores, predators, cooperativebreeding and social systems.

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This is the definitive book on the dogfamily, dealing with many aspects of thebiology and conservation of wolves, dogs,jackals and foxes. It covers many topicsrelevant to modern conservation science,and features detailed case studies of manycanid species across the globe. A must-havebook for all scientists studying carnivores,predators, cooperative breeding, and socialsystems. A useful text for bothundergraduate and graduate courses in

behavioural ecology and conservationbiology.Wild canids are the ancestors of thedomestic dog and there are a large numberof wolf and domestic dog enthusiasts whowill be engaged by the contents of this book.

This book will appeal to carnivoreconservationists, behavioural ecologists,conservation biologists (from undergrad topostdoctoral level), conservation and wildlifemanagers. A secondary market existsamongst amateur naturalists, dog ownersand dog enthusiasts.

To order a copy visit: http://www.wildcru.org/aboutus/publications/books.htm

Subscribers to the Canid-L list canenjoy a 40% discount. To subscribe tothis list visit the website at:www.canids.org. Add £50 for postageand packing or collect your copy fromOxford University.

Canid Action Plan

The new Canid Action Plan synthesises the current knowledgeon the biology, ecology and status of all wild canid species, andoutlines the conservation actions and projects needed to securetheir long-term survival. Aiming at conservation biologists,ecologists, local conservation officials, administrators, educators,and all others dealing with canids in their jobs, the authors aspireto stimulate the conservation of all canids by highlightingproblems, debating priorities and suggesting action.

Copies of CAP can be ordered from:Wildlife Conservation Research UnitZoology Department, South Parks RdOxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdomwww.wildcru.org; www.canids.org

or you can download the PDF file at www.canids.org

Book Review