Prague, Sept 1 (CTK) – Scientists rejoice because wolves have returned to the Ore Mountains (Krusne hory), but local farmers are less happy because their pack of about ten has killed 30 sheep in Abertamy, west Bohemia, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes yesterday.
Since wolves kill animals solely for their food, experts were surprised at such a high number, MfD writes.
“This can be explained by adult wolves teaching their young to attack. At least this is our experience,” zoologist Vit Tejrovsky is quoted as saying.
Speculations about the return of the beasts of prey to the local forests appeared some time ago, but now there is clear evidence of their presence, MfD writes.
“There are traces, but also individual observations of the gamekeepers who hunt the deer,” Tejrovsky said.
After the first mentions of the occurrence of the wolves appeared, the administration of the protected landscape area gave the local farmers practical advice that they should use fences and sheepdogs, he added.
“There is not such experience with them here as in the Beskides Mountains,” Tejrovsky said.
The news about the reintroduction of wolves in the Beskides, north Moravia, and in some other regions in the Czech Republic appeared earlier this year.
The wolf became extinct on the area of the present-day Czech Republic in 1918, but in the past months, the news about the return of the predator has been increasingly coming, MfD wrote in February.
“Our examination has found that this was really a wolf attack. The owner can ask the state for compensation for the lost profit,” Tejrovsky said about the Abertamy case.
“The amount of the compensation for the damage is insufficient. It is 1,500-2,000 crowns per one sheep. A two-year-old sheep that can have up to eight lambs in its lifetime and can be giving milk for five years, has the worth of about 10,000 crowns for us,” a local farmer is quoted as saying.
Experts are installing camera traps in the Ore Mountains, MfD writes,
“The local environment is ideal for wolves. The Ore Mountains are densely forested and there is calm,” Tejrovsky said, adding that wolves are very shy animals and people do not have to worry.
However, the gamekeepers are of a different opinion.
“They have a negative influence on the life in the forest. We have enough natural predators even without them,” a local gamekeeper is quoted as saying.
“In addition, the Ore Mountains are unprepared for their stay now. They are quite criss-crossed by biking trails,” he added.
($1 = 24.196 crowns)
