The first phase of the plan has just been completed coordinated monitoring of the presence of the wolf in Italy, on the initiative of Ministry of the Environment and the Protection of the Territory and the Sea, today the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The data collection was coordinated by ISPRA, in collaboration with Federparchi for peninsular Italy and with LIFE WOLFALPS EU project for the Alpine regions. The project saw the active involvement of the Park Authorities, the Regions and the Provinces and guaranteed technical training to standardize as much as possible the collection and cataloging of the signs of the presence of the wolf on the national territory. In the various areas homogeneous methods were applied simultaneously in order to obtain a reliable assessment of the distribution and consistency of the wolf in our country (including an estimate of the accuracy of the results obtained).
During the preliminary phase, the data collection strategy was shared with the bodies involved. Assuming that the objective was ambitious and that the logistical limitations were innumerable (from the size of the area to be sampled, to the simultaneous collection of data in areas that are also very far away and with different ecological characteristics, etc.), ISPRA has chosen to rely on the technical skills already present in the participating institutions, providing specific guidelines to follow and a mandatory training course of about 20 hours. All with the technical support of a specific work group.
The surveys, programmed with monthly from October 2020 to April 2021, have provided for the identification of sample areas ("cells") in which to carry out sampling along transects (exits carried out by teams of 1 or 2 people), in order to record possible signs of the presence of the species. To perform in a coordinated way data collection for the 2020-2021 season the outings were scheduled and specific material was provided for the collection and storage of the samples, as well as a detailed cartography of the transepts to be monitored, also available through a dedicated app (Gaia). Furthermore, geo-localized wolf videos and / or photos were requested. For such extensive monitoring and to be carried out at the same time, they were involved numerous figures, preliminarily subjected to a specific training course.
Many hunters have provided their participation in the initiative, making an essential contribution to the good success of the same. The deep knowledge of the territory has, in fact, allowed the representatives of the hunting world to play a precious role. Usually part of the public opinion looks at this category with prejudice in relation to a predator, such as the wolf. These prejudices have been dispelled by the results obtained, from the precision and punctuality with which kilometers and kilometers of transects were traveled and from the rapid acquisition of parameters for the recognition of wolf / hybrid droppings (required by protocol). Thanks to the data obtained from the sample cells, estimates on the abundance or consistency (understood as number of individuals, N) and on the distribution (range) of the species on the national territory will be calculated in the coming months.
The peculiar social organization of the wolf has led to the recognition of the need to consider not only the single individual in the context of intensive sampling, but also the herd, which represents the fundamental reproductive unit on which the population dynamics are structured. The results of the monitoring must form the basis for future management decisions and allow to evaluate the achievement (or the degree of achievement) of the conservation objectives, first of all the maintenance at national level of a favorable conservation status of the species, which in Federcaccia's opinion must be combined with the maintenance and protection of traditional Alpine and Apennine sheep farming activities. It is important to underline once again how, in an important context such as the national monitoring of an emblematic species, commitment, seriousness and knowledge of the area, heritage reserved for hunters, has resulted in an effective and important collaboration.