Wolf–Hunting Dog Interactions in a Biodiversity Hot Spot Area in Northern Greece: Preliminary Assessment and Implications for Conservation in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park and Adjacent Areas

Hunting dog depredation by wolves triggers retaliatory killing, with negative impacts on wildlife conservation. In the wider area of the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park, reports on such incidents have increased lately. To investigate this conflict, we interviewed 56 affected hunters, condu...

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Autores principales:	Yorgos Iliopoulos, Eirini Antoniadi, Elzbieta Kret, Sylvia Zakkak, Theodora Skartsi
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	<i>Canis lupus</i> hunting dogs depredation prey selection predation risk maps Dadia Forest National Park Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/9998f19d4af644f2b03c8e07e96669ae
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:9998f19d4af644f2b03c8e07e96669ae2021-11-25T16:19:40ZWolf–Hunting Dog Interactions in a Biodiversity Hot Spot Area in Northern Greece: Preliminary Assessment and Implications for Conservation in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park and Adjacent Areas10.3390/ani111132352076-2615https://doaj.org/article/9998f19d4af644f2b03c8e07e96669ae2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3235https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615Hunting dog depredation by wolves triggers retaliatory killing, with negative impacts on wildlife conservation. In the wider area of the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park, reports on such incidents have increased lately. To investigate this conflict, we interviewed 56 affected hunters, conducted wolf trophic analysis, analyzed trends for 2010–2020, applied MAXENT models for risk-map creation, and GLMs to explore factors related to depredation levels. Losses averaged approximately one dog per decade and hunter showing a positive trend, while livestock depredations showed a negative trend. Wolves preyed mainly on wild prey, with dogs consisting of 5.1% of the winter diet. Low altitude areas, with low to medium livestock availability favoring wolf prey and game species, were the riskiest. Dogs were more vulnerable during hare hunting and attacks more frequent during wolf post-weaning season or in wolf territories with reproduction. Hunter experience and group hunting reduced losses. Wolves avoided larger breeds or older dogs. Making noise or closely keeping dogs reduced attack severity. Protective dog vests, risk maps, and enhancing wolf natural prey availability are further measures to be considered, along with a proper verification system to confirm and effectively separate wolf attacks from wild boar attacks, which were also common.Yorgos IliopoulosEirini AntoniadiElzbieta KretSylvia ZakkakTheodora SkartsiMDPI AGarticle<i>Canis lupus</i>hunting dogsdepredationprey selectionpredation risk mapsDadia Forest National ParkVeterinary medicineSF600-1100ZoologyQL1-991ENAnimals, Vol 11, Iss 3235, p 3235 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	<i>Canis lupus</i> hunting dogs depredation prey selection predation risk maps Dadia Forest National Park Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991
spellingShingle	<i>Canis lupus</i> hunting dogs depredation prey selection predation risk maps Dadia Forest National Park Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 Yorgos Iliopoulos Eirini Antoniadi Elzbieta Kret Sylvia Zakkak Theodora Skartsi Wolf–Hunting Dog Interactions in a Biodiversity Hot Spot Area in Northern Greece: Preliminary Assessment and Implications for Conservation in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park and Adjacent Areas
description	Hunting dog depredation by wolves triggers retaliatory killing, with negative impacts on wildlife conservation. In the wider area of the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park, reports on such incidents have increased lately. To investigate this conflict, we interviewed 56 affected hunters, conducted wolf trophic analysis, analyzed trends for 2010–2020, applied MAXENT models for risk-map creation, and GLMs to explore factors related to depredation levels. Losses averaged approximately one dog per decade and hunter showing a positive trend, while livestock depredations showed a negative trend. Wolves preyed mainly on wild prey, with dogs consisting of 5.1% of the winter diet. Low altitude areas, with low to medium livestock availability favoring wolf prey and game species, were the riskiest. Dogs were more vulnerable during hare hunting and attacks more frequent during wolf post-weaning season or in wolf territories with reproduction. Hunter experience and group hunting reduced losses. Wolves avoided larger breeds or older dogs. Making noise or closely keeping dogs reduced attack severity. Protective dog vests, risk maps, and enhancing wolf natural prey availability are further measures to be considered, along with a proper verification system to confirm and effectively separate wolf attacks from wild boar attacks, which were also common.
format	article
author	Yorgos Iliopoulos Eirini Antoniadi Elzbieta Kret Sylvia Zakkak Theodora Skartsi
author_facet	Yorgos Iliopoulos Eirini Antoniadi Elzbieta Kret Sylvia Zakkak Theodora Skartsi
author_sort	Yorgos Iliopoulos
title	Wolf–Hunting Dog Interactions in a Biodiversity Hot Spot Area in Northern Greece: Preliminary Assessment and Implications for Conservation in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park and Adjacent Areas
title_short	Wolf–Hunting Dog Interactions in a Biodiversity Hot Spot Area in Northern Greece: Preliminary Assessment and Implications for Conservation in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park and Adjacent Areas
title_full	Wolf–Hunting Dog Interactions in a Biodiversity Hot Spot Area in Northern Greece: Preliminary Assessment and Implications for Conservation in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park and Adjacent Areas
title_fullStr	Wolf–Hunting Dog Interactions in a Biodiversity Hot Spot Area in Northern Greece: Preliminary Assessment and Implications for Conservation in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park and Adjacent Areas
title_full_unstemmed	Wolf–Hunting Dog Interactions in a Biodiversity Hot Spot Area in Northern Greece: Preliminary Assessment and Implications for Conservation in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park and Adjacent Areas
title_sort	wolf–hunting dog interactions in a biodiversity hot spot area in northern greece: preliminary assessment and implications for conservation in the dadia-lefkimi-soufli forest national park and adjacent areas
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/9998f19d4af644f2b03c8e07e96669ae
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Wolf–Hunting Dog Interactions in a Biodiversity Hot Spot Area in Northern Greece: Preliminary Assessment and Implications for Conservation in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park and Adjacent Areas

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