Wolf at the door: How Europeans must relearn to live alongside large carnivores

Centuries after they were hunted to near-extinction, the return of wolves in the modern era requires careful planning, writes Harry Cockburn

Foxtrot or flamenco? A pair of Iberian wolves flirt on a hot day in Spain (Getty )

The wolf is the pinnacle of dread across European folklore. From Little Red Riding Hood, to the Three Little Pigs, and from the Boy who Cried Wolf to the hair-raising prospect of werewolves walking among us waiting for the full moon to shine.

In these stories, the wolves have various things in common – they’re big, they’re bad, they’re cunning, and they’re a deadly menace to peace and prosperity.

But following centuries of persecution by humans – both figurative and very literally – wolf populations are now on the rise in many parts of Europe.

There is a growing recognition of the role apex predators play in boosting biodiversity, and maintaining healthy ecosystems.

But the return of the wolf has caused conflict in many areas, with some livestock at risk of predation, and sparking passionate debate on how best to protect both the wolves themselves, and the communities they come into contact with.

Experts are now calling for increased support for those communities to help encourage harmonious relationships with their new neighbours.

New research led by the University of Leeds focused on different villages in Spain, with a view to exploring the conditions under which humans and wolves can co-exist, living peacefully and sustainably alongside each other.

Spain is home to one of Europe’s largest wolf populations, with around 2,000 to 2,500 animals, mostly around the northwest of the country.

The research is published just two weeks before the Spanish government is set to impose a national ban on wolf hunting, which could aggravate current tension over how wolves should be managed, and by whom.

Researcher Hanna Pettersson from Leeds’ Sustainability Research Institute, spent most of 2020 in three Spanish villages – one with a permanent presence of wolves, one where they have recently returned, and one where their return is expected within the next decade.

Ms Pettersson, who is from Sweden, said: “Wolves are beautiful creatures admired by many, but they also cause problems for traditional farming communities, many of whom are already vulnerable due to unfavourable market conditions and social marginalisation.

“The survival of these communities is crucial to maintain their rich cultural heritage and sustainable food production practices, and therefore we must ensure the right conditions are created to enable them to persist in a wilder and more biodiverse countryside of the future.

“Wolves are returning to places where they have been extinct for decades, sometimes centuries. The key challenge we face is preparing and supporting communities so that they can adapt and flourish, thanks to, or sometimes despite, their return.”

Speaking about the difficulties communities face, Ms Petterson said: “The main problem with wolves in areas where wolves and people shared space was often less about the wolves themselves, but about economic and social pressures that were threatening the livelihoods, cultures and autonomy of local communities. For different reasons, the wolves often came to represent these pressures.”

The research team said that as traditional farming practices are still prevalent in Spain, where shepherds graze livestock across wide areas, they face the risk of predation from wolves.

Some communities, such as one studied in Sierra de La Culebra in north west Spain, have lived alongside wolves for generations and they have adopted various successful coping methods to coexist.

These include protecting their animals by enclosing them overnight, accompanying them on foot during the day and keeping large “guardian dogs” with their flocks at all times.

However, the researchers said these methods are highly work intensive and costly, particularly for small-scale farmers whose economic margins often are very narrow.

In Spain, the few subsidies available for preventative methods have so far been focussed on communities where wolves have returned and caused rampant social conflict.

Meanwhile, People in harmonious areas have been left, in the best of cases, with bureaucratically cumbersome and inefficient compensation payments, if they can prove their animal was killed by a wolf, which is often impossible.

Ms Petterson said: “If we don’t recognise, celebrate, and support these communities, it will be almost impossible for them to pass on their way of life to future generations and we will lose the knowledge and skills of those who have successfully lived alongside wolves for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

“Without support, coexistence farmers will always be worse off than those who live in areas without wolves, and that sends the wrong signal.

“We need coexistence communities to thrive, to provide a positive example and illustrate to those who are anticipating the return of wolves that living with them is possible.”

Julio Majadas Andray from Spanish charity Fundación Entretantos which partnered with the Leeds study, said: “Spanish people’s coexistence with the wolf is currently passing through a very sensitive and complex phase that has dragged on for years.

“We must ensure that solutions are built collectively and that decision-making is supported by a large part of society - especially by the people, entities and groups affected.”

Overall, the research team outlined four key elements required for the long-term coexistence of humans and wolves.

They are:

• Effective institutions – both formal and informal, to provide support and incentives, transparent and participatory decision-making, and which can tailor the demands of global conservation priorities to local conditions and mediate disputes as they arise
• Stable carnivore persistence – local conditions that allow the long-term survival of a species, including habitat to live in, abundant prey and genetic diversity within the population
• Social legitimacy – trust in local decision makers and public acceptance of both the procedure and the outcomes of decision-making
• Low levels of risk or vulnerability – minimal interaction between humans and the carnivores, maintained livelihood resilience and the ability of both people and carnivores to adapt their behaviour to life in the vicinity of one another

The research is published in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science.