Expert: People have no reason to be afraid of wolves

Many reports of wolf attacks on animals are often so-called fake news, mammal specialist Dr. Katarzyna Kozyra-Zyskowska told PAP. She emphasized that people currently have no reason to fear wolves.

On Thursday, the European Parliament will vote on changes to the EU Habitats Directive. It may finally seal the weakening of the wolf's protection status - from a strictly protected species, this predator will become a protected species. The wolf would then cease to be subject to strict prohibitions on deliberate capture, killing, disturbance, deterioration or destruction of breeding and resting areas. It will also be possible to conduct controlled culling (population regulation) of these predators, in accordance with the regulations of individual countries.

"Many articles (especially in regional media) that demonize wolves and describe their alleged attacks on humans or farm animals are additionally accompanied by photographs generated using AI. This is intended to increase their credibility and intensify fear of wolves in society," theriologist (mammal specialist) Dr. Katarzyna Kozyra-Zyskowska told PAP.

In her opinion, these reports spread disinformation about wolves and are created by groups that want to weaken wolf protection in Poland and the European Union. An example is the April report in the regional media in Podlasie (as well as on a national website) about a human being bitten by wolves. It was denied by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Białystok.

"Fear of the wolf is evolutionarily rooted – for thousands of years, humans have perceived large predators as a potential threat. Additionally, for centuries, a negative image of the wolf has been perpetuated in myths, fairy tales and folk tales, presenting it as a symbol of evil, cunning and threat. We have been bombarded with images of the +bad+ wolf since childhood – an example is the fairy tale +Little Red Riding Hood+" – explained Dr. Kozyra-Zyskowska.

She added that as a result, the wolf has become a fearsome creature in the collective imagination, often completely detached from biological and ecological reality.

According to her, the negative attitude towards this species deepened with the change in people's lifestyle – from nomadic to settled, agricultural, when we started breeding cattle, sheep, horses. People then encountered wolf attacks on farm animals. Because of these losses, hostility towards these predators was born in local communities.

"Wolves were also perceived as carriers of rabies, which increased fear of them and determination to exterminate them," said Dr. Kozyra-Zyskowska. Mass wolf hunting was facilitated by the development and production of firearms during the industrial revolution; hunting began to be treated as a sport. In addition, the development of agriculture and deforestation, as well as increasing human pressure on the natural environment, contributed to a significant reduction in wolf habitats.

All this led to the almost complete extermination of this predator in Poland at the end of the 19th century. The partially revived population was exterminated in the following decades during the Polish People's Republic to such an extent that in the early 1970s there were only 100 wolves left in our country. This is how the authors of the article "Possibilities of wolf protection in Polish national parks" described the situation, published in 1997 in the "Morena" journal, which publishes studies and materials of the Wielkopolski National Park.

Kozyra-Zyskowska recalled that thanks to legal acts such as the Bern Convention established in 1979 or the EU Habitats Directive of 1992, as well as social initiatives (including the activities of the Workshop for All Beings), when active protection of wolves became possible from 1998 throughout the country, the wolf population began to recover.

"Various activities, both at the international and national level – including legal acts, habitat protection programs and the involvement of non-governmental organizations – have contributed to the gradual recovery of the wolf population in Poland and other European countries," she said. She noted that the wolf population has now increased to 21,500 individuals in the EU (and about 3,000 in Poland), which means an increase of 58 percent over the past ten years.

"Wolves are naturally timid and avoid contact with people. In exceptional cases, they may behave unusually - for example, when they become accustomed to the presence of humans (i.e., undergo so-called habituation) or contract rabies. It should be emphasized, however, that rabies in wolves does not currently occur in Poland, thanks to effective preventive programs," said the theriologist.

She noted that a wolf attack can occur when special circumstances are met, e.g. when the wolf was previously fed and tamed by people. However, such cases are very rare and since the wolf was placed under strict protection in Poland, only two such incidents have been recorded, both in 2018, and both cases involved wolves previously fed by humans. Meanwhile, dog bites in Poland occur at a rate of 13 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Despite this - as she emphasized - we are much more afraid of wolves than dogs.

When it comes to wolf attacks on cattle and farm animals, the expert said that, for example, out of 60 million sheep registered in the EU, only 0.065% are killed annually as a result of attacks by these predators. "Only 0.003% of the cattle population in Poland is killed as a result of wolf attacks. The vast majority of farm animal mortality cases are due to other factors, including primarily diseases, accidents and neglect in maintenance," explained Dr. Kozyra-Zyskowska.

She added that some of the reported cases of attacks on farm animals are the work of free-roaming dogs, but they are wrongly attributed to wolves. Domestic dogs, especially those left unattended, can cause damage to the natural environment, as confirmed by numerous data from monitoring conducted in various parts of the country. An example is a recording recorded by a camera trap showing a pack of dogs chasing a moose, which was presented by the researcher during one of the webinars devoted to the issue of wolves.

The fact that wolves rarely attack farm animals is also proven by the results of the latest Polish studies. Scientists from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw showed during research in the Warta River Mouth area that wolves feed primarily on wild hoofed mammals - they constituted almost 82 percent of the biomass of food consumed by them. The share of beavers and hares in the diet of these predators was 14.5 percent. Domestic animals were rarely eaten, and cattle constituted only 3 percent of the food. An article on this subject was published in the "European Journal of Wildlife".

Dr. Kozyra-Zyskowska pointed out that many people feel fear when they see a wolf on the road or near buildings. "As a rule, these are young wolves that are very curious, or are in the process of searching for a partner and their own territory (so-called dispersion). Wolves' habitats are heavily fragmented by road infrastructure, buildings and other elements of the landscape transformed by humans. As a result, during migrations - especially of young individuals looking for new territories - wolves may appear in places where no one would expect them. However, this does not indicate the animal's audacity. The presence of a wolf in an open landscape, for example in a field, often arouses anxiety, although a similar situation involving a roe deer does not arouse similar emotions - despite the fact that wolves naturally hunt hoofed mammals, and fields are part of their hunting area," she explained.

In her opinion, disinformation in the media about wolves causes a lot of harm, because people who are not familiar with the biology and behavior of these predators have a hard time distinguishing between what is false and what is true. "Fake news leads to an increase in fear of the wolf and aversion to it. They increase social acceptance of weakening the protection of this predator. Meanwhile, the wolf is neither good nor bad, it is simply an element of the ecosystem in which it plays an important, natural role," said the theriologist.

As she stressed, each of us can act to combat fake news, for example by not disseminating it or demanding corrections from the authors of false media reports.

"If you encounter a wolf in the field, you should remain calm. Although it may seem that the animal is staring at you, this is more likely due to its limited vision. However, when it senses you with its much better sense of smell, it usually moves away quickly," explained Dr. Kozyra-Zyskowska. She noted that it is enough to raise your hands or shout to scare away this predator.

To reduce the risk of wolves approaching buildings, it is worth not leaving food leftovers near houses, securing waste containers, closing gates properly, sealing fences, locking up farm animals and dogs at night.

The specialist reminded us that in Poland there is a system of subsidies for farmers who have suffered damage as a result of the actions of wolves. Under the current regulations, it is possible to shoot problematic wolves with the consent of the General Director for Environmental Protection.

Joanna Morga (PAP)

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