Wolf diet and livestock depredation in North Bosnia and Herzegovina
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Wolf diet and livestock depredation in North Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Trbojević1 · Aleksandra Penezić2 · Josip Kusak3 · Oliver Stevanović4 · Duško Ćirović2 Received: 18 September 2019 / Accepted: 2 July 2020 © Deutsche Gesellschaft für Säugetierkunde 2020
Abstract Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) is considered as a core area for Dinaric-Pindos/Dinaric-Balkan large carnivore populations. Unfortunately, little is known about their population parameters as well as feeding ecology which represents a serious threat to the management of those populations. This particularly applies to wolves (Canis lupus), which are constantly, throughout the year, under hunting pressure in a large part of the country. This paper represents the first systematic analysis of wolf feeding habits in B&H, providing the first results on wolf-livestock depredation. Results suggest that wild ungulates were the most important source of food, with domestic animals being a secondary source. Other types of prey or food items were of little significance in the wolf diet. The proportion of dog remains were among the highest in Europe. The results of the questionnaire indicate that sheep were the most often depredated (69%) livestock species. Rare usage of guardian dogs and electric fences resulted in increased losses of domestic animals. This paper represents the first contribution to better knowledge and future management plans of the wolf in B&H. Keywords Wolf · Diet · Wild ungulates · Domestic animals · Bosnia and Herzegovina Although the European populations of gray wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758) have recently recovered (Chapron et al. 2014; Ripple et al. 2014), there is still a deeply rooted hostility against this species because of its impact on the style of human livelihoods (Bruskotter and Wilson 2014; López-Bao et al. 2015). Domestic animals, small mammals or garbage are important components in wolf diet in areas which are under strong anthropogenic influence (Andersone and Ozoliņš 2004; Capitani et al. 2015; Ćirović and Penezić 2018; Petridou et al. 2019). Native prey in Eurasia is represented by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), wild boars (Sus scrofa), moose (Alces alces) and red deer (Cervus Handling editor: Francesco Ferretti. * Igor Trbojević [email protected] 1
Faculty of Sciences, University of Banja Luka, Mladena Stojanovića 2, 78000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2
Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
3
Veterinarian Faculty, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
4
Public Veterinary Institute of the Republika Srpska “Dr. Vaso Butozan” Banja Luka, Branka Radičevića 18, 78000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
elaphus) (Ansorge et al. 2006; Mattioli et al. 2004; Nowak et al. 2011). Southeast Europe, including Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), is considered as one of the hot spots for large carnivore populations (Chapron et al. 2014). The proper management of wolves in B&H is also of great importance for the neighboring Croatia
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