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Wolves

The wolf population in Sweden has been growing steadily over the past 20 years to the present size of approximately 200 animals (Aronson and Svensson 2009; Wabakken et al. 2001) and so have the problems associated with it. Many hunters in Sweden consider wolf attacks on hunting dogs to be the major problem (Backeryd 2007). Wolves are the most dangerous predator for dogs in Sweden, although encounters are generally few (Persson and Sand 1998). In 2008, 41 dogs were attacked by wolves with a lethal outcome in 27 cases, whereas only 16 dogs were attacked by bears, lynx and wolverine together and only two of them were killed (Karlsson 2008). 86 % of the dogs attacked by wolves between 1995 and 2005 were attacked during hunting (Backeryd 2007). These dogs chase e.g. moose on their own without a human nearby and have consequently a higher risk of being injured or killed if encountering a wolf or a wolf pack (Persson and Sand 1998). Some hunters avoid using hunting dogs in regions with wolf populations (Bisi et al. 2007; Andersen et al. 2003; Karlsson and Thoresson 2000). One way of reducing the risk of a wolf attack is the “wolf telephone” where hunters can get information of the whereabouts of the resident wolf pack (Karlsson et al. 2006). Wolves wearing radio transmitters are tracked and their presence is then indicated in ten by ten kilometer squares and dog owners can avoid these areas (Karlsson et al. 2006). The location of these wolves can nowadays be found on a wolf tracking website.

 
African wild dogs have been reported to attack cattle as well as sheep (Woodroffe et al. 2007). These attacks are relatively few in comparison to other carnivores, mainly due to these livestock being protected by herders, but if natural prey species are reduced, wild dog predation may become a severe impact on local farmers (Woodroffe et al. 2005). As far as can be ascertained, there are no reports of wild dog attacks on domestic dogs.
 
Dholes can be responsible for up to 40% of livestock damages in areas with recovered population (Wang and Macdonald 2009). About a third of their prey biomass can come from domestic animals. So far no attacks on domestic dogs by dholes are reported (Wang and Macdonald 2009).

References

Andersen, R., Linnell, J. D. C., Brainerd, S. and Hustad, H. (2003). Large predators and human communities in Norway. A guide to coexistence for the 21st century. NINA Temahefte, 1-48.

Aronson, Å. and Svensson, L. (2009). Varg i Sverige vintern 2008/09 - Preliminär statusrapport. Viltskadecenter, 1-25.

Backeryd, J. (2007). Wolf attacks on dogs in Scandinavia 1995 – 2005 - Will wolves in Scandinavia go extinct if dog owners are allowed to kill a wolf attacking a dog? Examensarbete. Institutionen för ekologi, Grimsö forskningsstation. Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet.

Bisi, J., Kurki, S., Svensberg, M. and Liukkonen, T. (2007). Human dimensions of wolf (Canis lupus) conflicts in Finland. European Journal of Wildlife Research 53, 304-314.

Karlsson, J. (2008). Viltskadestatistik 2008. Viltskadecenter, 1-30.

Karlsson, J. and Thoresson, S. (2000). Jakthundar i vargrevir - En jämförelse av jakthundsanvändningen i fem olika vargrevir och statistiken över vargangrepp på hundar 1999/2000. Viltskadecenter, 1-8.

Karlsson, J., Svensson, L., Jaxgård, P., Levin, M., Ängsteg, I. and Johansson, Ö. (2006). Rovdjur, tamdjur, hundar och människor - PM till rovdjursutredningen 2006. Viltskadecenter, 1-74.

Persson, J. and Sand, H. (1998). Vargen - viltet, ekologin och människan. Svenska Jägareförbundet, Stockholm.

Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (2010). Varg tracking. http://webmap.slu.se/website/vargwebb/viewer.asp (Accessed 06 April 2010).

Wabakken, P., Sand, H., Liberg, O. And Bjärvall, A. (2001). The recovery, distribution, and population dynamics of wolves on the Scandinavian peninsula, 1978-1998. Canadian Journal of Zoology 79, 710-725.

Wang, S. W. and Macdonald, D. W. (2006). Livestock predation by carnivores in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, Bhutan. Biological Conservation 129, 558-565.

Wang, S. W. and Macdonald, D. W. (2009). Feeding habits and niche partitioning in a predator guild composed of tigers, leopards and dholes in a temperate ecosystem in central Bhutan. Journal of Zoology 277, 275-283.

Woodroffe, R., Frank, L. G., Lindsey, P. A., Ole Ranah, S. M. K. and Romañach, S. (2007). Livestock husbandry as a tool for carnivore conservation in Africa's community rangelands: A case-control study. Biodiversity and Conservation 16, 1245-1260.

Woodroffe, R., Lindsey, P., Romañach, S., Stein, A. and Ole Ranah, S. M. K. (2005). Livestock predation by endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in northern Kenya. Biological Conservation 124, 225-234.


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Last updated: 05/18/10