Conflicts with Wolves Can Originate from Their Parent Packs
Transmission of experience about prey and habitat supports the survival of next generation of wolves. Thus, the parent pack (PP) can affect whether young migrating wolves (loners) kill farm animals or choose to be in human environments, which generates human–wolf conflicts. Therefore, we researched...
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doaj-ee4e5d0e4493463a9a33a184db61cac12021-07-01T00:21:11ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-06-01111801180110.3390/ani11061801Conflicts with Wolves Can Originate from Their Parent PacksDiederik van Liere0Nataša Siard1Pim Martens2Dušanka Jordan3Institute for Coexistence with Wildlife, Heuvelweg 7, 7218 BD Almen, The NetherlandsDepartment of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, SloveniaMaastricht Sustainability Institute, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The NetherlandsDepartment of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, SloveniaTransmission of experience about prey and habitat supports the survival of next generation of wolves. Thus, the parent pack (PP) can affect whether young migrating wolves (loners) kill farm animals or choose to be in human environments, which generates human–wolf conflicts. Therefore, we researched whether the behavior of loners resembles PP behavior. After being extinct, 22 loners had entered the Netherlands between 2015 and 2019. Among them, 14 could be DNA-identified and linked with their PPs in Germany. Some loners were siblings. We assessed the behavior of each individual and PP through a structured Google search. PP behavior was determined for the loner’s rearing period. Similarity between loner and PP behavior was significant (<i>p</i> = 0.022) and applied to 10 of 14 cases: like their PPs, three loners killed sheep and were near humans, five killed sheep and did not approach humans, while two loners were unproblematic, they did not kill sheep, nor were they near humans. Siblings behaved similarly. Thus, sheep killing and proximity to humans may develop during early-life experiences in the PP. However, by negative reinforcement that can be prevented. New methods are suggested to achieve that. As a result, new generations may not be problematic when leaving PPs.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/6/1801human–animal conflictwolf behaviormigrating wolvessheep killingearly-life experiencesbold wolves |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Diederik van Liere Nataša Siard Pim Martens Dušanka Jordan |
spellingShingle |
Diederik van Liere Nataša Siard Pim Martens Dušanka Jordan Conflicts with Wolves Can Originate from Their Parent Packs Animals human–animal conflict wolf behavior migrating wolves sheep killing early-life experiences bold wolves |
author_facet |
Diederik van Liere Nataša Siard Pim Martens Dušanka Jordan |
author_sort |
Diederik van Liere |
title |
Conflicts with Wolves Can Originate from Their Parent Packs |
title_short |
Conflicts with Wolves Can Originate from Their Parent Packs |
title_full |
Conflicts with Wolves Can Originate from Their Parent Packs |
title_fullStr |
Conflicts with Wolves Can Originate from Their Parent Packs |
title_full_unstemmed |
Conflicts with Wolves Can Originate from Their Parent Packs |
title_sort |
conflicts with wolves can originate from their parent packs |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Animals |
issn |
2076-2615 |
publishDate |
2021-06-01 |
description |
Transmission of experience about prey and habitat supports the survival of next generation of wolves. Thus, the parent pack (PP) can affect whether young migrating wolves (loners) kill farm animals or choose to be in human environments, which generates human–wolf conflicts. Therefore, we researched whether the behavior of loners resembles PP behavior. After being extinct, 22 loners had entered the Netherlands between 2015 and 2019. Among them, 14 could be DNA-identified and linked with their PPs in Germany. Some loners were siblings. We assessed the behavior of each individual and PP through a structured Google search. PP behavior was determined for the loner’s rearing period. Similarity between loner and PP behavior was significant (<i>p</i> = 0.022) and applied to 10 of 14 cases: like their PPs, three loners killed sheep and were near humans, five killed sheep and did not approach humans, while two loners were unproblematic, they did not kill sheep, nor were they near humans. Siblings behaved similarly. Thus, sheep killing and proximity to humans may develop during early-life experiences in the PP. However, by negative reinforcement that can be prevented. New methods are suggested to achieve that. As a result, new generations may not be problematic when leaving PPs. |
topic |
human–animal conflict wolf behavior migrating wolves sheep killing early-life experiences bold wolves |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/6/1801 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT diederikvanliere conflictswithwolvescanoriginatefromtheirparentpacks AT natasasiard conflictswithwolvescanoriginatefromtheirparentpacks AT pimmartens conflictswithwolvescanoriginatefromtheirparentpacks AT dusankajordan conflictswithwolvescanoriginatefromtheirparentpacks |
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