HUMAN-WOLF COEXISTENCE
WWW.IONONHOPAURADELLUPO.IT
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We support the NGO Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo (I Am Not Afraid of the Wolf) to improve human-wildlife coexistence. By controlling ungulate numbers and behaviours, wolves allow forests to regenerate, benefitting biodiversity and the natural ability of landscapes to sequester carbon. Moreover, their impact on human activities can be mitigated. Through communications, INHPDL are fostering greater understanding between wolves and humans, promoting the dissemination and adoption of preventative wolf-damage measures in farms and livestock-rearing activities, and engaging the community with education and citizen science programmes.
No animal in the world has been more vilified and misunderstood than the Grey wolf. In the last few decades, wolves have recolonised much of their former European range, due to a combination of rural-urban migration, land abandonment, increased prey densities and legal protection. Italy is thought to have one of the largest wolf populations in Europe, but their natural recolonization from a historic low of less than 200 individuals in the 1970s has sparked misinformation and reawakened a centuries-old conflict.
Wolves are a ‘keystone’ species in Europe, maintaining a ‘trophic cascade’.
When managed sustainably, wolf-related tourism can diversify and enrich rural economies.
Coexistence with wolves is achievable with traditional and modern preventative measures.
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