In the rural areas ofAbruzzo (but now this is the case throughout Italy, from the Alps to the Apennines) they are now everywhere because they follow the wild prey, wild boars and roe deer that have recolonized areas where they were no longer present until 20-30 years ago. And when the presence of man becomes less evident, they also reach peri-urban or urban areas. Wolves are sighted with increasing frequency, in these days of reduced mobility, even in the cities of the Abruzzo coast, the last one the other evening in Montesilvano Colle (Pescara). Why? "The wolf knows how to evaluate if man is present and if it constitutes a threat", explains to ANSA Simone Angelucci, veterinary manager of the Majella National Park, remembering that many farms are not preyed on precisely because there is a shepherd, in addition to the dogs.
«The strong ecological data - he specifies - is not alone the reintroduction of these animals on the territory, but the abandonment that concerns areas not only of the Marsica, Majella, Gran Sasso or Sirente. The changes in the agricultural world have led to the abandonment of large areas of land in the peri-urban areas and the wood that now penetrates the cities offers bushes as an excellent refuge for ungulates ». On the Majella, says Angelucci, “we have 10 wolf packs with a very consolidated social structure, from 7-8 individuals to 12-14 per pack. In the Apennine mountain areas they survive thanks to the abundance of wild prey, wild boar for 70-80% of the diet, then roe and deer.
There are times of the year, like this one, when young males, 1 or 2 years old, are removed from the herd to maintain balance. It is the period of love, the animals begin to choose the lair, for the birth expected in the second half of May. The young wolves, therefore, abandon the pack and go up to hilly or peri-urban areas ». In these areas, continues Angelucci, they can find their prey, roe deer and wild boars who have chosen as a refuge those uncultivated land where in the last thirty years small woods have reformed, «Suitable cover for ungulates that use cultivated fields as food resources in the hills. Recent studies also explain their presence in these areas because they feel more protected from their natural aggressors ».
What to do if you come across one of these animals? "They should not be threatened, neither wolves nor roe deer or wild boars - Angelucci replies - Usually they go away if they see people. If, on the other hand, they have a behavior that is too confidential they should not be challenged, one gradually moves away, without showing fear or aggression ». For confident wolves, we have sometimes followed them because "young, in physical and therefore nutritional difficulties, as they approached homes to have food of anthropogenic origin" (Ladige.it).