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Beyond 2000:
Realities of Global Wolf Restoration
23-26 February 2000
Duluth, Minnesota USA
Brett Groehler—UMD
Djuro Huber, IUCN Wolf Specialist, Croatia.
Djuro Huber, University of Zagreb, Biology Department of
the Veterinary Faculty, Heinzelova 55, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
After alarmingly low wolf population indices in Croatia in the
early 1990s, a campaign to protect the species succeeded by May
1995 when the animal was protected: (1) any killing or disturbance
was prohibited (a fine of nearly USD 6000 was established), and
(2) proven damage done by wolves would be compensated by the state.
The first provision never worked, as the killings even increased
compared to the years before protection: 24 bodies retrieved to
the author's lab, and at least twice as many actually killed after
protection as before. No one was ever fined. Secondly, the state
paid over USD $200,000 for damage claims that showed a dramatic
increase: 9 in 1995, 176 in 1996, 516 in 1997 and 669 through November
1998. The need for a wolf management plan for Croatia became urgent.
Newly acquired data showed that the wolf is present throughout Zone
A, an area of 17,270 km2 (6,746 mi2) which was divided into the
Zone A1 where wild prey predominates as wolf food and Zone A2 where
wolves feed predominantly on livestock. The area of occasional wolf
presence is 6,840 km2 (2,672 mi2), and the area presently without
wolves is 29,212 km2 (11,411 mi2). Despite high mortality, the estimated
50 wolves in the early 1990s might have increased to over 100 individuals.
Possible reasons are wolf reproductive success during the Croatian
war due to the abundance of abandoned livestock and due to immigration
from outside Croatia. Although the wolf population of this size
should still be considered threatened and legally protected, the
noted trend permits more flexible management. Due to the lack of
knowledge about Croatian wolves, the high illegal kill, and the
increasing trend of wolf damages, a temporary wolf management plan
was instituted for the period of 1 January 1999 through 31 December
2000. Long and short-term measures were initiated. As a short-term
measure for Zone A1, wolf reduction will be considered in the case
of high losses of trophy wildlife and the scientifically proven
stable local wolf population. For Zone A2, an area of 3,177 km2
(1,241 mi2) was defined where 75% (N=491) of wolf depredations have
been claimed. In this area the possibility of permitting local,
limited wolf killing to protect livestock was anticipated; in the
same period, wolf damage compensations would not be paid. Part of
the strategy is to prepare conditions, by 2001, for paying subsidies
instead of damage compensations for livestock raising in wolf range.
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