Biology
Why to preserve the wolf?
Why conserve the wolf?
First, we must consider its ecological aspects: in an ecosystem, interactions between species are highly complex, so complex that it is not easy to study the relationships between two species by isolating them from their context,
Countless factors contribute to regulating the populations of animal species, maintaining them in dynamic equilibrium
Removing one or more species means altering natural balances, evolved over thousands of years, with consequences that are not even perceptible at the time but could prove very negative later.
We should also take a step back and considere the new expansion of the wolf as a conservation success due to a new social sensitivity towards the environment, originating in the rebellious youth moviments of the 1970s.
Finally, we must firmly consider that all living beings have the same right to live on Earth.
Allowing all species to survive is a sign of civilization and an exercise in democracy for which we are all responsible.
History
The coexistence (good practices)
Coexistence between wolves and humans requires the use of adequate and efficient systems to prevent damage to livestock
It’s clear that the presence of wolves directly affects farmers, who are often unprepared for the arrival of the wild predator in newly colonized areas, or are so tied to their family habits and traditions that they can’t imagine conducting their business differently.
For example, the use of well-bred and properly trained livestock guarding dogs is beneficial not only for sheep farming in mountain pastures but also for free-ranging cattle: the use of cattle guarding dogs has proven to be one of the best practices promoted by the European Life Praterie project, implemented by the Park to protect the high-altitude pastures of Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga.
The same can be said for the use of calf shelters, where mothers in mountain pastures return each evening to nurse their calves, avoiding wandering off into the mountains and thus becoming easy prey for wolves.
Of course, fences, wheter fixed or mobile, electric or otherwise, must also be wolf-proof.
This means they must be buried, with an overhanging section, and without any climbing supports if fixed, or with placed at the right distance and with the right voltage.
All aspects have been developed during specific projects, such as Wolfalps in the Alps or Medwolf in central Italy, which have given rise to experimental livestock farmers who promote best practices among their peers, such as the Difesa Attiva association.
Today, livestock farmers must be informed and ready to embrace new developments and available practices that are no longer in use but are highly effective in protecting livestock.
Protected areas certainly play an important role in this regard. They must promote (and many already do so) knowledge and make resources available to disseminate best practices aimed at the coexistence of human activities and wolves.
Curiosity
The coexistence (cultural role)
Unlike today, the coexistence between man and wolf in other cultures was centered on man’s respect for the wild predator, which was considered a totemic animal to be taken as a reference gor its strenghth, its pack-like lifestle reminiscent of the human family, and its marked communication skills, including facial expressions and vocal language.
The negative meaning of the wolf gradually estabilished itself in sedentary cultures dedicated to forestry and pastoral activities, and with Christianity starting in the Middle Ages, when the wolf, associated with the devil, was contrasted with the lamb, an image of Jesus.
In ancient times, however, the wolf often had a positive connotation: the wolf was associated with the sun god Apollo for the Greeks. The very word “likos”, meaning wolf in ancient Greek, is believed by some to descend from the Indo-European term “like”, meaning “light”.
The wolf is associated with the god of war Mars in ancient Rome, which according to tradition was founded by his twin sons, Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf.
In Germanic mythology, the mighty Odin is always accompanied by his two faithful wolves, Geri and Freki.
The gratest Mongol leader, Genghis Khan, who created an empire from scratch, was said to have the qualities of a wolf: cunning, patient, ferocius and hungry. For Native Americans, the star Sirius was the Wolf Star, which guided spirits across the Milky Way.
Dedicating hunts to the wolf or performing propitiatory ceremonies for it were common practies, such as rubbing arrows on a wolf’s fur before the hunt or placing sacred objects in wolfskin saddlebags.
Members of some tribes called themselves “wolves”.
A summary of what the wolf represented for all these peoples is what the old Mongolian shepherd expressed to the young Chinese man who had captured a wolf and wanted to tame it in Jaing Rong’s story “The Last Wolf”:“you have captured a God and made him your slave.” As if to say: the wolf is the symbol of the sprit; it cannot be tamed.
