Anthropogenic and Environmental Factors Determining Local Favourable Conditions for Wolves during the Cold Season

Abstract

Winter resources are crucial for wildlife, and, at a local scale, some anthropogenic and environmental factors could affect their availability. In the case of wolves, it is known that vocalisations in response to unfamiliar howls are issued to defend their territory and the important resources within it. Then, we studied the characteristics of winter response sites (WRS) during the cold season, aiming to assess their eventual ability to provide insights into the distribution of valuable resources within their territories. Within this scope, we planned a wolf-howling survey following a standardised approach. The study covered an Apennine (Central Italy) area of 500 km2. A hexagonal mesh was imposed on the area, in order to determine the values of different variables at the local scale. A logistic LASSO regression was performed. WRS were positively related to the presence of thermal refuges (odds = 114.485), to patch richness (odds = 1.153), wild boar drive hunting areas (odds = 1.015), and time elapsed since the last hunt (odds = 1.019). Among negative factors, stray dogs reply considerably affects wolves’ responsiveness (odds = 0.207), where odds are the exponentiated coefficients estimated by the logistic lasso regression. These results suggest that WRS are related to anthropogenic and environmental factors favouring the predation process.

Does the Wolf (Canis lupus) Exhibit Human Habituation Behaviours after Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild? A Case Report from Central Italy

“…As previously recorded on wolves not subjected to captivity and forced contact with humans, Carlina’s movement patterns and circadian rhythms highlighted evident complementarity with human activities, concentrating the activity phases during the nighttime when human presence is low [ 20 , 31 , 41 ]. Accordingly, during the autumn, when the hunting season is in progress, Carlina only uses hunting areas at nighttime.…”

“…This could depend on the calculation with locations recorded only during summer and autumn, due to the subsequent loss of the GPS signal. Furthermore, high forest cover, availability of refuge areas and prey abundance influence wolves’ home ranges, reducing space need [ 20 , 31 ], and the study area is characterized by a widespread availability of these resources.…”

“…Furthermore, Carlina territory intersects about 3116 ha of wild boar hunting areas, where these ungulates are frequently injured and die after a short time [ 35 , 36 ]. The presence of a protected area (hunting banned area)—the Terminillo wildlife oasis ( Figure 1 and Figure 5 )—could generate, especially during the hunting season (autumn–winter), concentration in ungulates due to the refuge effect [ 37 , 38 , 39 ], favouring predator–prey encounter probability [ 20 ]. Accordingly, Carlina was frequently located along the border between Terminillo oasis and the neighbouring hunting zones ( Figure 5 ).…”

“…In the area, the wild boar was widely present and abundant, as well as the roe deer [ 20 ], and about 3116 ha of wild boar drive hunting zones were intersected. In these zones, drive hunting with dogs was performed in the period October–January, in accordance with national and regional hunting rules.…”

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

“…The number of dog interactions per village was highly and positively correlated to hunting effort, further supporting that hypothesis. Additionally, wolves may have also behaviorally responded to the intensified hunting pressure of wild boar (their main prey in winter) caused by the ongoing use of GPS dog collars, and the overall increase in wild boar hunters, either by developing intra-guild interference competition with hunting dogs [ 20 ], as has also been documented between wolves and coyotes [ 104 ] or indirectly by getting attracted to wild boar drive hunts to prey on injured wild boar left by hunters [ 105 , 106 ]. Once wolves conceive dogs as alternative/possible prey, a strong learning process is initiated and they may start seeking them very intently whenever available [ 7 , 10 ] and when most vulnerable, such as, for example, during hare hunting, as shown in the analysis.…”