Unprecedented attacks of wolves on deer herds have been reported in the Izhemsky region of the Komi republic; sometimes, the dreaded beasts even venture into villages
Director of the “Izhemsky Deer Farm” Ivan Kanev says that every day, 23 deer farming brigades try to defend their livestock against wolf packs, but in vain. To date, the damage caused by wolves to the deer farm is more than one thousand animals. Full-grown wolves are not even afraid of venturing into villages. For instance, wolves have ripped apart 15 watch dogs to pieces in one settlement since beginning of the winter.
Deer farmers say that the only way to get rid of the wolves is to organize regular helicopter attacks; which cost from 10 to 20 thousand rubles (approximately 300-700 dollars) per a raid. The problem is that not all aviation enterprises of the Komi republic have suitable helicopters.
Specialist from the Komy Republican Hunting Department Ivan Lapin says that optimal number of wolves that causes no harm to wild and domestic animals is 500, but there are currently already about 600 wolves in the republic. Since the beginning of the year, about 40 wolves have been killed. Wolf hunters are paid 1,000 rubles (a bit more than 30 dollars) per dead male wolf and 1,200 rubles per dead she-wolf.
Natalia Likhacheva
Komiinform
Translated by Maria Gousseva
Read the original in Russian: http://science.pravda.ru/science/2002/6/20/55/3844_wolf.html
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