Articles - Vivat lupus
Who's afraid of the
wolf?
The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is the most widely distributed large mammal
on the planet. This predator used to populate almost the entire Northern
Hemisphere. Due to the negative human influence on nature, the
historical image of the wolf went through drastic changes in a short
period of time. Wolves, which were once common and widely spread in the
entire continental zone of the Northern Hemisphere, completely vanished
or have been drastically reduced in numbers across wide areas of the USA
and Europe. This occurrence is exactly proportional with the development
of human population and the degradation of wolves’ natural habitats. In
Europe wolves remain only in highland areas where there is extensive
cattle breeding (the Iberian peninsula, the Apennines in Italy and the
Balkan Peninsula) or in the ex-Soviet countries of Eastern Europe and
Asia. In west and central Europe wolves became extinct during the 17th
and 18th centuries.
The grey wolf belongs to the family of dogs (Canidae). It is a
well-proportioned, well-built carnivore of medium size. It has a large
head and strong jaws, muscular neck, firm body, strong chest and long
legs. With such “equipment” the wolf is indeed a specialist for hunting
prey in swift and persistent pursuit as a member of a pack. Co-operation
during the hunt allowed the development of a high level of the
psychological characteristics of the wolf, and the characteristic
hierarchical structure within the pack.
Vivat Lupus (lat.) – Long live the wolf
The Organisation Vivat Lupus was founded in Novi Sad on December 2005. It was started by students who care for the preservation of natural habitat, biological diversity, sustainable development and the welfare of men and wild animals in a mutual environment. The main goals of Vivat Lupus are:
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Conservation and study of wild carnivores (bear, wolf, fox, jackal, lynx, wild cat, otter etc.) in Serbia
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Education about the importance and role of these species in nature
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Ecological activism with the goal of attracting public attention to the problems of the survival of carnivores in Serbia
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Re-introduction of extinct species of carnivores in Serbia
The Organization Vivat Lupus has
gained an enormous amount of support from true animal lovers right
across Serbia. Also, important contacts have been established with the
relevant scientists both in Serbia and abroad.
Each year massive wolf hunts are organized in Serbia. As their
organizers proudly say, these hunts aim to help cattle farmers to whom
wolves cause damage. The truth is somewhat different. In these hunts,
fewer wolves are killed than in individual hunts. But, massive hunts
are, generally speaking, very bad. Wolves are hunted unselectively and
randomly; often the strongest members of the pack are killed which
destroys the structure of their complex hierarchy. The media make
sensational reports of these hunts and make the image of the wolf in the
eyes of the population even worse. Large numbers of hunters, sometimes
over 2,000, surround an entire mountain and trap the animals, giving
them no chance of escape. Killed wolves are often placed on the hoods of
cars where they are photographed together with the “proud hunters”.
Frequently hunters drive their cars, displaying dead wolves on the hood,
across the town as a display of power. Such hunting methods show no
gallantry or sport, especially not today in an era of high technology.
Mass hunts of wolves by men with rifles and other high tech equipment
are anything but sporting and justifiable.
Foto:
Neven Bjelić
The Organization Vivat Lupus arranged a protest gathering on
Mount Zlatibor, on 4th March 2006. On that day, more than a thousand
hunters hunted wolves on this mountain. The aim of the gathering was,
above all, to show that in Serbia there are people who think that hunts
are not a good solution and that there are other, more humanitarian,
solutions to resolve the conflict between cattle farmers and wolves.
Participants of the protest arrived on Mount Zlatibor in two buses, with
105 activists and also around 30 young people from the local Uzice area
who joined in the protest. Most of the activists were students from Novi
Sad and Belgrade, but there were also elementary and high school pupils
from Belgrade and Cacak. Great support came from NGO Planet – Art from
Uzice. The protest had been designed as a peaceful, ecological gathering
of citizens. The participants did a small performance, disguised as
Little Red Riding Hood, a sheep and a wolf. The group of travelling
entertainers, known as “Putujuci cututuk”, put on a show with music,
juggling and rides on the monocycle, while the youngest children were
amused by a clown who made figures of animals out of balloons. The
action was excellently covered by the media and very soon positive
criticism from the community followed. Since it was the first time that
such a protest was held in Serbia, it is no wonder that everyone on
Mount Zlatibor was surprised by what they saw, and the hunters were much
amazed by the determination and courage of these young people, who stood
up and told them publicly that they are wrong.
Wolves have been described as ”extreme pests, bloodsuckers, unscrupulous
killers of cattle and wildlife” to the public of Serbia for decades. The
reality is that wolves do cause damage to cattle farmers. But that is
caused by various other factors. The populations of Red Deer, Roe Deer
and Wild Boar in Serbia, which are the primary prey of wolves, are in
catastrophic condition due to excessive hunting and poaching. Most
cattle farmers do not have adequate fences to protect their cattle from
wolf attacks, in the countryside there are no proper, trained sheep
dogs, villages are dying out, the population is rapidly growing old, and
wolf habitats are reduced by urbanisation, forestry, hunting and
tourism. So the wolf is not, neither he can be, mean a bloodsucker or a
murderer; he is just an animal, just like any other, forced to survive.
The wolf population in Serbia is roughly estimated at 700-800 animals by
the leading biologist (Paunović et Milenković, 2000). Hunters, in
their most recent statements, claim that the population is at least
double that, ignoring the facts put forward by valid scientific
research. It is clear that the population of wolves is exaggerated for
various purposes. Each year in Serbia about 100 wolves are killed. Most
of these animals are killed in individual actions, when they are hunted
at feeding stations (places where wolves are artificially fed with
slaughterhouse waste) and mostly during the winter. By this method a
very negative form of selection is carried out because those wolves that
do not cause any damage to cattle farmers are shot!
On the territory of Serbia wolves are protected only in the Autonomous
Province of Vojvodina, by the Hunting Law (which gives a permanent
closed season) and by the Legal Act of Natural Rarities (Natural
Rarity). South of the rivers Sava and Danube, wolves are hunted
throughout the year.
The roles of wolves in nature:
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Select natural prey
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Remove the carcasses of dead animals
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Maintain biodiversity
Conflict between humans and wolves dates
from the times when human society changed from gathering food to keeping
livestock. It is believed that the first domesticated animal was a wolf.
Some 100.000 years ago the wolf developed into the domestic dog, an
animal that has had such a great influence on mankind. Dogs provided
humans with an easier way of hunting wild animals, the ability to settle
in one place and to control other domesticated animals. In this way
human society had more leisure time, which probably led to development
of the arts. From ancient times wolves followed humans and scavenged
their food waste. Sometimes wolves even co-operated in hunts with
humans. But, when humans started keeping livestock, the wolf became
their worst rival. Since then these two species have outwitted each
other, but coexisted.
Different cultures have had different impressions of the wolf. In some
societies wolves were considered to be gods and were worshiped, in
others they were hated and detested. Societies in the Balkans respected
the wolf. Old Slavs featured their major god
Dazbog
as a Lame Wolf. Wolves had a strong symbolical meaning amongst the Slavs
which was preserved throughout history and then carried on into the
Christian era. The wolf has always played an important role in Serbian
folklore, customs and tradition. A great number of male and female
personal names are derived from the word Vuk (Serbian for
Wolf) –
Vuk,
Vukašin,
Vujadin, Vuka and Vukosava. It used to be believed that wolves scare
away evil spirits and ghosts and protect children from illness and
because of this parents gave their children names which derived from the
word «wolf». Also many settlements and other places in Serbia are named
after wolf (Vučje, Vučkovica, Vučica).
In parallel with intensive logging, wars and the devastation of rural
communities, hunting societies started planning game rearing in
communist Serbia. They tried to eradicate the wolf population in various
ways, but the worst one was by poisoning wolves with
strychnine. Wolves learned how to survive poisoning, but many
Jackals, Brown Bears, Lynxes, Griffon Vultures, Egyptian Vultures,
Lammergeyers, Black Vultures, Golden Eagles and Imperial Eagles died.
Due to poisoning and loss of habitat
Black Vultures, Lammergeiers and Egyptian Vultures are now extinct
in Serbia, while the future of other big raptors is not secure.
Text: Milan Ružić
Photo: Milana Novaković & Stefan Nikolić
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