Dispersal of wolves and lynx and their perceived effects on roe deer in the hunting grounds of Lower Saxony, Northern Germany

Egbert Strauß, Reinhild Gräber, Katrin Ronnenberg

Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation Hunting Association of Lower Saxony

supported by funds of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Wolf natural recolonisation 2017: 12 packs, 3 pairs, 2 residential singles = approx. 140 individuals

2015 : 6 packs, 2 pairs, 2 residential singles

2011: first wolf pack in Lower Saxony

Wolf monitoring: Hunting Association of Lower Saxony by SCALP-criteria Lynx

reintroduction and recolonisation estimated abundance of 30 - 60 lynx in the Harz mountains & 10 - 20 lynx in the surrounding

natural dispersal in the surroundings (Lower Saxony: Weser - Mountains, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse, Thuringia)

2000 – 2006 reintroduction of 24 Source: Reports of Anders and Middelhoff 2015, 2016 & 2017 see: individuals in the Harz Mountains http://www.luchsprojekt-harz.de Return of Wolf and Lynx critical opinions of hunters

due to the presence of wolf and lynx, roe and red deer: . behave more shyly and hide more . remains in the forest (for a longer time) resulting greater browsing/peeling damage . form larger herds

=> impedes hunting Human dimension objectives

 evaluate and document hunters opinions of their observed and perceived effects of wolf or lynx on deer  comparison of roe deer hunting bag in hunting grounds with presence or absence of wolf / lynx  improve acceptance for large carnivores by providing solid information Wildlife survey data 1991 - 2016

annual questionnaire • on several game species • ~ 9,200 „private“ hunting grounds and © piclease Brillen © piclease Kaminski 150 state forest districts are questioned annually about: • occurrence © piclease Ott • abundance © piclease Lettow • diseases • hunting management • hunting bag • opinion © piclease Brillen © piclease Ott

 participation 1994 – 2016: 80 - 90 % = 7,600 – 8,500 hunting grounds © piclease Müller © piclease Gailberger managed by: Hunting Association of Lower Saxony scientific research: Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research Wildlife survey data 2013 - 2016 query and requested data wolf / lynx  Do you have any evidence of wolf or lynx presence in your hunting district? » no; yes, sporadic; yes, regular; no information

Wildlife survey data 2013 - 2016

query and requested data roe and red deer  Hunting bag for each hunting ground  Opinion of the hunters (landlords or tenants of the hunting grounds) about the effects on roe and red deer: How do I agree with the following statement? In my hunting district...... I observe less roe deer! ... I observe more large red deer herds!

Possible answers: not at all; less; partial; a lot; complete; no information

Study region Lower Saxony

Lüneburg Heath (LH)

. 1700 hunting grounds . forest: app. 33% . large military training areas Wolf, . intensive agriculture Roe deer, Red deer

Weser Mountains & Harz Mountains (W & H) Lynx, . 980 hunting grounds . forest: app. 33% Roe deer, . intensive agriculture (Red deer) . low mountain range (100 -1100 m ASL) Results: Wolf and Lynx occurrance of wolf/lynx in the two regions Results Human Dimension wolf occurrence and roe deer sightings

 no differences in the years 2011-13; 2014; 2015 Results Human Dimension short presentation of the results from questionary 2016

How do I agree with the following statement?

In my hunting ground …. I observe less roe deer.

Region absence presence n hunting wolf wolf grounds total Lüneburg Heath (Wolf) 12 % 44 % 1685 lynx lynx Weser & Harz Mountains (Lynx) 12 % 42 % 969

In my hunting ground .... I observe more large red deer herds. Region absence presence n hunting wolf wolf grounds total Lüneburg Heath (Wolf) 6 % 29 % 628 Results Predators & Hunting bag hunting index roe deer 2009-15 & occurrence of - wolf 2013-15 in Lüneburg Heath - lynx 2013-15 in Weser- Harz mountains Linear mixed-effects model (R CRAN): Roe deer & wolf example on roe deer hunting bag lme(log1p(hi_reh)~factor(Jahr)*factor(vk_Wolf) +Wald_proz,random=~1|REVN,data=wolf,na.action (Lüneburg Heath) = na.omit) only private hunting grounds (n = 1594)  decrease in all private hunting grounds significant  high forest share significant  no differences with or without wolf

- 52% Roe deer & lynx: lme(log1p(hi_reh)~ factor(Jahr)* factor(vk_luchs) +Wald_proz,random=~1|REVN,data=luchs,na.action = na.omit)

 decrease in all private hunting - 57% grounds not significant  high forest share significant  no differences with or without lynx Summary facts

 regular or sporadic wolf occurrence in 40 to 70 % of the private hunting grounds and in 40 to 50 % of lynx occurrence  44 % of the hunting grounds with wolf and 42 % with lynx observed less roe deer respectively  decline in roe deer hunting bag > 50% in the region Lüneburg Heath (wolf) and in Weser-Harz Mountains (lynx) from 2011 – 2015  but, decline in roe deer hunting bag independent in hunting grounds of wolf / lynx presence or absence Summary open questions  behavioral effects on roe and red deer are caused by wolf or lynx?  predator avoidance behavior in deer realistic? (landscape of fear!)  decline in hunting bag caused by large predators?  actual hunting effort of hunters? conclusion  opinions of the hunters have to be taken seriously  wrong impressions about effects on deer must be disproved and hunters must be enlightened by scientific knowledge  more acceptance towards wolf and lynx

Thank you for your attention