Transylwania - ostatnia wielka ostoja dla europejskich wilków
Transylvania, the last great stronghold for wolves in Europe
Artykuł - źródło: http://www.wildtransylvania.com/2010/06/wolves-in-woods.html
Link do pięknego wideo Youtube o naturze wilków (w j.angielskim):
Tłumacznie słownictwa na końcu artykułu.
Transylvania has the largest wolf population in Europe. In fact the total
population here is greater than all the wild wolves of western Europe put
together. Many people have an irrational fear of wolves, which has lead
to centuries of persecution by hunting and trapping, leading to their near
irradiation in many parts of the continent. This is one of the great tragedies
of the natural world as they are a "keystone species", one natures most
important apex predators, considered to be vital "ecosystem managers".
In reality we now know that they pose no threat to humans, so why do
we continue to persecute them?
Why are wolves so important for the environment? Well firstly they strengthen
the ungulate population e.g. wild boar and deer, by preying on the sick, old
and genetically inferior animals, allowing the healthiest individuals to breed
and perpetuate their species. Wolves are the only predator in Europe that do
this. They also feed other animals as the remains of any carcass left behind,
help feed brown bears, eagles, foxes and other scavengers. Wolves improve
riparian areas by redistributing deer, allowing vegetation to recover along
rivers and streams. More willows and aspens provide food for beavers.
More beaver ponds benefit aquatic plants and animals. Shade from the
trees cools the water, making the habitat better for trout. (J & J Dutcher)
How easy is it to see wolves? The simple truth is that sightings are very rare
and difficult as wolves are very aware of our presence and shy away when
they pick up human scent. Man is the wolves main predator and their
experience is to regard humans as a threat. I have discussed this subject
with Transylvanian transhumance shepherds and they tell me that the
wolf is always aware of you before you are of them.
Often all you get to see are their tracks, the leftovers of a kill, or maybe
some fur on a tree where they have been scratching themselves. This all
adds to the mystery of the wolf, and why a rare sighting becomes extra
special. Most villagers have never seen a wolf and the few recorded
sightings are usually from rangers, shepherds or hunters. According to
the rangers the best chance of seeing a wolf is by closely following large
flocks of sheep. The shepherds are resigned to the fact that they will lose
the odd lamb and in some instances even an adult sheep. The dogs guarding
the flock do their very best to guard their flock, but with four or five dogs
guarding several hundred sheep, a wolf occasionally finds a target
momentarily off the dogs radar.
They are very intelligent animals and can be in and out of a flock within
seconds. Once they have the prey in their mouth they can run with the
sheep still very much alive. The shepherds tell me that the neck muscles
on a wolf are immense, which helps them carry heavy prey running at speed.
It also gives protection to vital blood vessels in the neck if they are attacked.
Wolves rarely venture into villages, but occasionally in the depths of winter
when food is scarce in the forest, they enter villages at night and take stray
dogs.
Although such events are rare, this demonstrates just how strong their
survival instincts are and willingness to take risks to gain vital food for their
families.How much of a threat are wolves to human safety? I went on a fac
finding mission, starting in my village of Ozsdola, to find any wolf stories. After
several weeks of research I managed to obtain several stories of bear attacks
by first hand survivors, but not a single account of a wolf attack. The rangers,
who spend most of their lives in the forest could not recall one single attack,
not from this or any other region in Transylvania. So I think it is reasonable
to conclude that wolves do not view us as a prey species, probably fear us,
and tend to keep their distance. I found this large wolf track in forests close
to the village of Ozsdola.
So how do we know that this track was made by a wolf? We first you need
to consider what other animals are out there which could produce an
impression of approximately eleven centimetres in length. This narrows
the number of possibilities dramatically as even a large domestic dog would
struggle to produce a track of that length. Then the overall symmetry of a
wolf print tends to be longer and narrower compared to that of a dogs.
So the only other animal in our forest capable of producing a track of that
size is a bear, and there is no difficulty distinguishing between bear and wolf
tracks as the wolf has four toes and the bear five.
Here is a wonderful video clip filmed by the BBC which will give you
some insight into the subject of wolves in Transylvania and their often
close proximity to humans. - (please check this out under the original
link above - Ania)
Vocabulary:
stronghold - bastion, ostoja
trapping - sidła, zastawiać sidła
irradiation - naświetlanie
keystone species - kluczowy gatunek
apex predators - czołowe drapieżniki
to pose no threat - nie stwarzać zagrożenia
threat - zagrożenie, groźba
persecute - prześladować
ungulate - kopytny
boar - dzik
prey - zdobycz
inferior - niższy, podległybreed
breed - rozmnażać się, hodować
perpetuate - utrwalać
feed - karmić
carcass - padlina
scavengers - padlinożerca
riparian areas - nadbrzeżne obszary
willow - wierzba
aspen - osika
beaver - bóbr
beaver pond - staw stworzony przez bobry, które zbudowały tamę
aby chronić się przed drapieżnikami
trout - pstrąg
sighting - widok
shy away - stronić od
predator - drapieżnik
transhumane shepherds - pasterze, który wędrują ze stadem
leftovers - resztki
flock of sheep - stado owiec
odd lamb - przypadkowa owca
blood vessels - naczynia krwionośne
venture - tu: zapuszczać się do/ zaryzykować coś zrobić
scarce - niewystarczający
stray dogs - zabłąkane psy
not a single account of - ani jeden przypadek/relacja
track - trop, ślad
approximately - w przybliżeniu
distinguish - wyróżnić
proximity – bliskość
Zdjęcia - źródła:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me0mzhSyXI1rgjr6eo1_500.jpg.
http://fyeahwolf.tumblr.com/page/4,
http://data1.whicdn.com/images/31481744/large.jpg
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