Ossetian villages hold wolves off at gunpoint

A resident of Dzagina village, Znauri district, was surrounded by a pack of wolves on his way home. He managed to survive only due to a slug gun that he’d taken as a safeguard.
Dzagina is not a solitude, the God forsaken place as it may seem. Approximately one hundred people are residing there. Each family has its economy: cows, sheep, pigs, poultry.
Attacks on the livestock have become almost a commonplace in such a lively village – it happens quite often, especially in winter.

The number of wolves has significantly increased in the recent years.
Yuri Gazzaev, the Head of the Plants and Wildlife Protection Department of the Committee of Geology, Ecology and Management of Natural Resources of South Ossetia, assumes, there are no less than 200 wolves and twice more jackals in the republic at present.

“Increase in the number of predators is, to a greater extent, linked to the so-called hybridization process. That is, zoogamy of wolves and dogs is often the case nowadays. After the war, many homeless, stray dogs have run wild and they now copulate with wolves says Gazzaev.

As a result a she-wolf cubs not once as she usually does, but twice a year. The number of wolves has recently particularly increased in Znaur district. There are the most favorable conditions for wolves’ existence in Znaur district – there is greater number of livestock and the landscape is more simple there – it is easier for a wolf to hunt after a roe deer on the plain rather than chasing after a chamois in the mountains.

The attacks on villages are mainly linked to the heavy snowfalls that have made wolves leave snow-covered forests in search of a prey.

Once Yuri Gazzaev himself, nearly became a prey:

“I was trailing the wolves’ pack in the vicinity of Malda village, Znaur district, where they used to attack a local economy. I survived by a miracle since the pack decided to feast with me. Nevertheless, I managed to kill three wolves.
South Ossetia has urgently passed a special predator extermination program. What was considered to be a poaching before, is encouraged now: for example, a hunter will be paid RUB2000 for killing a she-wolf, RUB1500 – for killing a wolf, RUB1000 – for killing wolf cubs, jackals and other predators. Dozens of predators were killed in the past few months, but the attacks on villages have continued.

Batradz Khasiev, a resident of Kornis village, managed to save his livestock from predators by a miracle.
“The dogs started howling in the middle of the night. I ran out of the house, but the jackals had already attacked the calves. I had never seen such big jackals before, said Khasiev.

It is noteworthy that animal meat is uneatable after predator’s bite as it can be infected with rabies.

People in South Ossetia believe, it is important to get rid of excessive number of predators out of ecological considerations as well. In fact, all-time abundance of predators almost always results in ecological misbalance.

“A hare has become a rare specimen in South Ossetia, says Yuri Gazzaev, – wolves exterminate deer, roe-deer. I have been a hunter for 50 years and I have got accustomed to monitor killing of animals. If carried out at the program-stipulated rate, there will be no misbalance in the number of hares, deer and roe-deer in the course of time.