The growing wolf population is currently a hot topic in many European countries. At the end of September, ambassadors of EU member states voted to relax the protection of wolves in Europe - instead of 'strictly protected', wolves are to be only 'protected'. The change will allow EU countries to cull wolves, although they will still have to take the size of their population into account.

Dr. Kuijper researches the behaviour of the predators to understand their role in the functioning of ecosystems.

Wolves were almost completely exterminated in Europe, but due to better protection (thanks to European legislation), their population is growing. They are now returning to their former territories, but in the meantime these areas have already been - to a larger or lesser extent - transformed by humans. This means that when wolves return to European landscapes, they have to live relatively close to human settlements and are much more often seen by humans. Moreover, when there are more and more of them, the 'good spots' are already occupied by some individuals, so other wolves have to look for new territories, including those closer to humans.

'In addition, as the wolf population in Europe grows, more young wolves appear and they look for new territories. These young, inexperienced animals sometimes do somewhat stupid things. They are like teenagers who take more risks and sometimes end up in wrong places. In the case of young, usually one-year-old wolves, they can be observed running around cities and villages, just like the wolf walking around Łódź in March 2015', says Kuijper.

'On this basis, many people believe that wolves are no longer afraid of people because we protect them and no longer hunt them in most European countries. But these are just guesses. There is no scientific research on this topic, which is why my research team and I are trying to fill this knowledge gap', he adds.

The researchers are currently halfway through a project financed by the Polish National Science Centre, entitled 'Are wolves losing their fear of humans? Changes in wolf behaviour and their consequences for prey species in human-dominated landscapes'.

They have already conducted an experiment simulating the presence of people in the forest to test the wolves' reaction to humans. As the animal passed by, it triggered the recording of a camera trap equipped with a motion sensor. At the same time, the device began to emit sounds of calmly speaking people. The scientists then analysed the behaviour of the recorded animals

The research was conducted in the Tuchola Forest, where wolves live and where people (foresters, mushroom pickers, tourists) can often be encountered.

'Wolves have been present in the Tuchola Forest for over 10 years and they have been under strict protection throughout this time. Encounters with people were therefore harmless to them. One could therefore assume that wolves have lost their fear of people. However, our experiments showed the opposite: wolves were very afraid of simulated human presence - they fled immediately after hearing a human voice. They did this in over 80 percent of all video recordings. When they heard control sounds (the voice of an owl or a crow), they reacted by fleeing only in 30 percent of cases. The study therefore shows that wolves are still very afraid of people', Kuijper says.

He adds that the reaction of wolves to human voices during the day did not differ from their reaction at night. It also did not depend on whether people, such as mushroom pickers or tourists, had been present in a given place before.

In the next study - this time in the Białowieża Forest - scientists wanted to check whether animals such as deer and bison were more afraid of their natural predators or people. 'We used the same equipment, but in addition to human voices and control sounds, we also added the sounds of wolves and lynx. It turned out that ungulates were much more frightened when they heard people', Kuijper says.

The project will continue until 2026. Full results of the conducted research are expected then. The research team consists of: Dr. Hab. Dries Kuijper at the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences; Dr. Marcin Churski, Dr. Paulina Szafrańska, Dr. Elise Say-Sallaz, Katharina Kasper, Professor Liana Zanette (Western University, London Canada), Dr. Mike Clinchy (Western University, London Canada) and Dr. Maciej Szewczyk (University of Gdańsk).

According to Kuijper, it is estimated that there are around 2,000 wolves in Poland.

The decision taken by the ambassadors of the EU Member States must be adopted by ministers. In the next step, the proposal will be submitted by the EU to the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention in the Council of Europe at its next meeting in December. Only after that will EU regulations be changed.

PAP - Science in Poland, Agnieszka Kliks-Pudlik

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