The fearsome wolf

Wolves stir passions among the Finns - for and against

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By Heli Saavalainen
     
      Of Finland’s large predators, the wolf, the lynx, the wolverine and the bear, wolves raise especially strong passions. Many fear and loathe wolves, but others are passionate about protecting them.
      Wherever a wolf appears, it is news - either through the destruction that it causes, or simply by eating its natural food.
     
Poaching takes a toll on predator populations, but people do not like to talk about it - at least not using their own names. In a small community, pressure from within is high.
      “There is little direct evidence of poaching. While the population was still growing, an estimated one out of ten wolves fell into the ‘grey zone’. Now the population has declined so much that clandestine shootings seem to have increased”, says special researcher Ilpo Kojola of the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute.
      There is evidence of poaching. “Radio collars have been found at the bottoms of rivers and in ditches, and poisoned bait has been found in forests. In addition, there are a few suspected cases of the use of snares”, Kojola says.
     
Wolves kill reindeer and sheep as well as hunting dogs. Anti-predator feelings in the north are usually linked with reindeer husbandry, and the defence of the livelihood. The further south a wolf wanders, the more the fears increase, as people are not accustomed to interaction with predators.
      While the situation has calmed down in Kainuu, where hunting permits have been granted for wolves, poaching has become a problem in Southern Finland.
     
A lack of familiarity with the presence of wolves has led to growing fears in areas such as Yläne, in the southwest, where a pack of seven or eight wolves currently live. Last winter, a lethal bait was found in the forest. Several had been found in Vieremä. Hidden inside the bait are substances such as foam plastic, which blocks the intestines, leading to a painful death.
      “Hunting wolves has become a professional activity”, says one man with experience in wolf habitats.
      “Baits are found in the wild, containing shards of glass and foam plastic. People look out for wolves from their cars, and run over them whenever possible. Snowmobiles are also used.”
     
The wolf debate surged in March when the Finnish Hunters’ Association published its estimate on the size of the wolf population in Finland. The association’s estimate is roughly double that of the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, which calculates that the population has declined by about 100 in just a few years.
      The Game and Fisheries Research Institute puts the population at 150-160. The Hunters’ Association estimates it at between 280 and 360.
      “That is severely excessive”, Kojola says. “We have knowledge of the number of wolves. The population cannot withstand more hunting.”
      Kojola believes that the hunters have counted the same wolves several times on the borders of their districts. The hunters also include all animals roaming along the border between Finland and Russia. The Game and Fisheries Research Institute includes only half of the wolves with “dual citizenship”.
     
Hunters’ Association chairman Lauri Kontro says that wandering packs have been taken into account in the association’s calculations. He sees no reason to worry about a collapse in the wolf population. “The wolf has spread throughout the country. It’s doing fine.”
      Kontro feels that the best way to protect the wolf is to grant a reasonable number of hunting permits. “A sensible policy on large predators is to preserve a vibrant population, while preventing wolves from causing harm to animals.”
     
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry reduced the number of wolf hunting permits outside the reindeer herding area last autumn because of the decline in the population. “We are going with just one figure, which is that of the Game and Fisheries Research Institute”, says chief inspector Jussi Laanikari.
      “There has been no movement of packs, and no wolves have crossed into Russia. Authorised hunting does not account for it, so researchers believe that the real reason for the decline is poaching”, Laanikari says.
     
Each year about ten cases of poaching of large predators are brought to the attention of game management authorities each year, and about as many attempts at poaching, says Jukka Bisi of Metsähallitus the Finnish state enterprise that administers state-owned land and water areas. “It seems to be continuing at the same pace.”
      There is little supervision, and there are plenty of uninhabited areas. “In the north of Finland, a single wilderness inspector can have a territory of nearly two million hectares. You can’t monitor very much there”, Bisi notes.
      “There are empty spots, and local residents have many places where they can do their tricks.”
      It is relatively easy to avoid enforcers. “Technical equipment has developed so fast that catching a predator is easy. News of the appearance of a police officer or a game enforcement officer can be sent to a wide area in a matter of seconds”, Bisi says.
     
The number of wolves is updated constantly. Two pairs in Kuhmo are now gone, because one half of each of them were culled in connection with a legal hunt. The existence of a third, marked pair is unclear. When the search was on for the partner of a male that had been fitted with a radio collar, only the male was found in the forest, along with plenty of tracks of a snowmobile.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 3.4.2010


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Scientists baffled by disappearance of wolves from Finnish forests (7.4.2008)
  Kainuu predators sitting ducks for foreign nature photographers (18.9.2005)
  A wolf consumes ten elk in a year on average (28.4.2005)
  The life and times of a lonely GPS wolf (14.4.2004)

See also:
  Bill to allow use of telephone surveillance to crack down on predator poachers (7.4.2010)

HELI SAAVALAINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
heli.saavalainen@hs.fi