Where have all the young wolves gone? Traffic and cryptic mortality create a wolf population sink in Denmark and northernmost Germany

Conservation Letters

Philip Francis Thomsen¹  Michael Møller Hansen¹  Peter Sunde²  Frank‐Uwe Michler³  Kent Olsen⁴  Christina Vedel‐Smith⁴  Sebastian Collet⁵  Carsten Nowak⁵  Björn Schulz⁶  Jens Matzen⁷ 

[1] Department of Biology Aarhus University Aarhus C Denmark;Department of Bioscience Aarhus University Rønde Denmark;Faculty of Forest and Environment, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development Eberswalde Germany;Natural History Museum Aarhus Aarhus C Denmark;Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt Conservation Genetics Section Gelnhausen Germany;Stiftung Naturschutz Schleswig‐Holstein Molfsee Germany;Stiftung Wildtiere im Norden Molfsee Germany;

关键词: Canis lupus;    Denmark;    genetic wildlife monitoring;    Germany;    human–wildlife conflict;    illegal killings;   

DOI  :  10.1111/conl.12812

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Large carnivores are currently recolonizing Europe following legal protection, but increased mortality in landscapes highly impacted by humans may limit further population expansion. We analyzed mortality and disappearance rates of 35 wolves (of which three emigrated, nine died and 14 disappeared by 1 January 2020) by genetic monitoring in the heavily cultivated and densely populated Jutland peninsula (Denmark and Schleswig‐Holstein, Germany). Annual traffic kill rate estimates ranged from 0.37 (95% CI: 0.11–0.85) to 0.78 (0.51–0.96) in the German part, equivalent to 0.08 (0.02–0.29)–0.25 (0.13–0.46) for the entire region, in the absence of any registered Danish roadkills. In Denmark, annual mortality rate estimates ranged from 0.46 (0.29–0.67) to 0.52 (0.35–0.71), predominantly from cryptic mortality. Despite successful reproductions, we conclude the region is a wolf population sink, primarily driven by cryptic mortality, most likely illegal killing. We hypothesize that frequent encounters between wolves and wolf‐averse persecutors in cultivated landscapes may cause unsustainably high mortality rates despite the majority of hunters respecting protection laws.

【 授权许可】

Unknown