MANAGEMENT OF WOLF POPULATIONS IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE SOUTH PRIARALIE

The article discusses the basic principles of wolf management in the conditions of the Southern Priraralie. The management of wolf populations has its own characteristics. It is very important to know the spatial territorial structure of family-flocking areas. In addition, to have information about the number of indigenous areas occupied by him, the average fertility, mortality and the age structure of his populations. KEYWORDS: regulation, management, poaching, fertility, radio tracking, convention.

Controversial approach to wolf management in the Czech Republic

Expansion of the wolf in the Czech Republic results in an increasing conflict between nature conservationists and other landscape users. In March 2020, the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic issued the "Wolf Management Programme". The document provoked negative reactions from organisations of farmers, breeders, and hunters. The article deals with the key issues triggered by the conflict and the attitudes of actors involved. We want to clarify to what extent the solutions designed by individual parties help to mitigate the conflict and how the financial demands related to this issue have been evolving. The problem may seem marginal in the Czech Republic, but the wolf population density in some regions may already be close to its bearable maximum. Key problems are the identification of specific target numbers of wolves, the absence of zoning as a future option, and clear rules for dealing with direct encounters of wolves with humans. The benefit of wolf management is primarily the sum of preventive measures it aims to address, but the relationship with other main actors and the area of education and promotion is debatable as it represents a further increase in the absorption of public funds without guarantees of effectiveness.

The Association Between Course Context and Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of SSI Instruction

This chapter explores the association between elementary preservice teachers' (PSTs) perceptions of teaching using socioscientific issues (SSI) and the context in which the PSTs initially engaged with SSI. One course engaged with SSI while learning pedagogical strategies during an elementary science methods (decontextualized) course. The second course engaged with SSI via an environmental sciences course (contextualized). The contextualized course examined gray wolf management in Northern California as part of an ecology unit, which was followed by a series of debriefings regarding the implementation of the SSI. The findings indicate that while PSTs from both courses generally held more positive perceptions of SSI instruction after engaging with SSI, the students in the contextualized course perceived a greater ability to answer SSI-related questions and expressed more positive attitudes towards science content in the post-course data. Additionally, students in both courses perceived a greater need for teacher training on SSI implementation post-course.

Missing shots: has the possibility of shooting wolves been lacking for 20 years in France

Wolves were exterminated in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Therefore, livestock breeders and herders were unprepared when wolves arrived from Italy in 1993, the year after France committed to the European Union (EU) to protect wolves. Today, ~580 wolves, whose numbers are growing exponentially, are present in over one-third of France. During the last 10 years, livestock deaths from wolves have grown linearly from 3215 in 2009 to 12451 in 2019, despite France implementing extensive damage protection measures since 2004, including reinforced human presence, livestock guard dogs, secured pasture fencing and electrified night pens. The failure to prevent damage is clear. Wolves enter mosaic landscapes where grazing livestock are abundant and easy prey. Wolves are intelligent and opportunistic. As a strictly protected species, it seems they no longer associate livestock with humans and humans with danger. Half of the successful attacks now occur during the day, notwithstanding the presence of dogs and humans. Considering the high costs of unsatisfactory protection, France recently modified its wolf management policy. In addition to non-lethal means of protection, breeders that have suffered several attacks by wolves are now permitted, by derogation to the law, to defensively shoot wolves. Based upon evidence from other countries, we suggest re-establishing a reciprocal relationship with wolves. Breeders and herders should be allowed to shoot wolves to defend their herds against wolf attacks, not after several successful predation events. Defence shooting would also upgrade the efficiency of non-lethal means, as warning signals for wolves to respect. Rather than passive coexistence, we need to embrace a dynamic and ever-evolving process of coadaptation between humans and wolves, relying on the adaptive capacities of both.