The extent of predation on livestock by large carnivores in Slovakia and mitigating carnivore-human conflict using livestock guarding dogs. Robin Rigg BA Honours, Cambridge A thesis presented for the degree of MSc at the University of Aberdeen 2004 Declaration This thesis has been composed by the candidate. It has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree. The work has been done by the candidate except where otherwise stated by means of acknowledgements and citations. All quotations have been distinguished by quotation marks and the sources of information specifically acknowledged. Signed Place Date 2 Acknowledgements This study was conducted in 2001-03 as part of the project, Protection of Livestock and Conservation of Large Carnivores in Slovakia, which I co-authored with S. Finďo. It was funded by the Born Free Foundation, the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), the Slovak Wildlife Society, The Wolf Society of Great Britain, the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, the University of Aberdeen and the European Union’s EPIFFLUS programme via Clark Mactavish Ltd. as well as private donations. Scientific work was supervised by M.L. Gorman of the University of Aberdeen, with valuable input from C. Sillero-Zubiri of WildCRU at Oxford University. Field and laboratory assistance was provided by S. Ondruš (Nízke Tatry National Park), S. Beťková, K. Soos, K. Laučíková, Ľ. Dzuriková, E. and B. Baláž, E. Tyson, E. Palmer and a number of other temporary and part- time assistants as well as several BTCV groups. M. Kminiak, V. Bartuš and others at L.Z. Vlk, T. Šafran, M. Kollárová, H. Kravcová and Dr. Pajerský assisted with selection, placement, care, observation and testing of pups. Thank you to all those who provided papers, unpublished data, personal communications, contacts and advice, including Ľ. Remeník (Veľká Fatra National Park), D. Kováč (Liptovský Mikuláš District Office), D. Kvaššay (Slovak Republic Environment Ministry), J. Dubravská (Slovak Republic Agriculture Ministry), J. Podolák (University of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava), O. Dobáková and her colleagues at various Agriculture Ministry regional offices, J. Goliašová (Slovenský čuvač Club of Slovakia), J. Jamnický, I. Zuskinová (Liptov Ethnographic Museum), T. Krafčiková (Prešov Homeland Museum), Z. Kyselová (Tatranský National Park), P. Kaštier (Zvolen Forestry Research Institute) and I. Šuba (Slovak Hunting Union). I was able to analyse samples at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Košice thanks to M. Goldová, J. Ciberej and staff, at the State Veterinary and Food Institute in Dolný Kubín thanks to M. Kantíková and colleagues and at Žilina University’s Institute of High Altitude Biology in Tatranská Javorina thanks to M. Janiga. Several others helped collect data or offered advice, including J. Topercer, V. Štupáková and A. Dixon. I give special thanks for all their help and support to Svetlana Beťková and family, Richard Morley, David Lintott, Maria Di Matteo, Renata Kalinová, my brother Alex and parents Alex and Sheila Rigg. I am grateful to the farmers, shepherds, managers and other personnel at farms participating in this study as well as to those who were willing to discuss their way of life and experiences of large carnivores. Finally, and although I am sure they would rather have been thanked with more food and kinder treatment than they received at some farms, I would like to dedicate this thesis to the dogs I was fortunate to be able to study. 3 Contents Declaration................................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgements.................................................................................................. 3 Contents.................................................................................................................... 4 Summary................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1: Background to the study.................................................................… 9 Chapter 2: The diets of European brown bear (Ursus arctos) and grey wolf (Canis lupus) in the Tatra and Fatra Mountains of Slovakia...................................................................... 22 Chapter 3: Extent and patterns of predation by large carnivores on livestock in Slovakia.................................................................... 74 Chapter 4: Testing the feasibility and effectiveness of livestock guarding dogs in the Slovak Carpathian Mountains...…….….. 136 Chapter 5: A review of carnivore-human conflicts in Slovakia...............….. 189 Chapter 6: Summary of results and implications for the conservation and management of large carnivores in Slovakia....................... 210 References............................................................................................................ 213 Appendices........................................................................................................... 256 Publications arising from the study................................................................... 262 4 Summary Shepherds and farmers in the Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia report damage to livestock by recovered populations of native predators, particularly grey wolves (Canis lupus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos). This study reviewed the nature and extent of carnivore-human conflict and assessed the relative importance of livestock depredation as a threat to the long-term endurance of viable populations of large carnivores in the wild. The possibility of revitalizing the traditional use of livestock guarding dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) to protect sheep (Ovis aries) was assessed by conducting a literature survey on the use of livestock guarding dogs (LGDs) worldwide, observing working LGDs in several countries, examining the reasons why the tradition had been abandoned in the Slovak Carpathians and performing field trials of LGDs with livestock at working farms. These activities were undertaken as part of the Protection of Livestock and Conservation of Large Carnivores (PLCLC) project. In order to evaluate spring-autumn diet of carnivores in livestock-raising areas a total of 373 bear and 70 wolf scats were collected in the Tatra and Fatra Mountains from March to November 2001-03 and their contents analysed. Bear diet was quantified using correction factors to convert % volume data into estimates of % dry matter ingested. The proportion of each prey item in wolf scats was calculated as frequency of occurrence and mean % volume. Experimentally derived regression equations were then used to convert the data into estimates of % biomass consumed. Livestock did not comprise a major component of the diet of either bears or wolves. Bear diet varied greatly among seasons. Plant material constituted 90.8% of total scat volume and 83.5% of estimated dry matter ingested. Green vegetation, mainly grasses/sedges and herbs, dominated in spring and early summer, with a shift to fruits (Vaccinium myrtillus, Rubus idaeus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Sorbus aucuparia) in July-October. Many bears utilised anthropogenic food sources, including hunters’ ungulate feeding stations, crops (Zea mays, Avena sativa, Triticum aestivum), refuse and, to a lesser extent, orchards (Malus spp., Prunus domestica), but no domesticated vertebrates were identified in any of the analysed scats. Invertebrates occurred significantly more frequently and in greater quantities than large mammals. Wild ungulates 5 formed the main prey base of the wolf (mean % volume in scats = 91.4%). Cervidae (Cervus elaphus, Capreolus capreolus) occurred 3.5 times more frequently in scats than wild boar (Sus scrofa) and comprised 4.4 times more of the estimated biomass consumed. Juveniles (<1 year old) were estimated to account for 65.7-70.7% of cervid biomass consumed. Carnivore-human conflicts were assessed on the bases of a literature review, informal interviews with hunters, conservationists and wildlife managers as well as the results of a questionnaire survey on public opinion, knowledge and attitudes. Predation on livestock seemed to be of little economic importance and was more a problem in perception than in reality. Although it was often cited in support of the need for increased hunting of large carnivores, it was of less concern in this respect than other issues such as instances of nuisance bears and predation by wolves on valued game species. Hunting did not necessarily appear to be the most immediate threat to bears, although it was evidently a major cause of wolf mortality. Twenty out of 24 regions (84%) with regular presence of bears and/or wolves were visited in order to assess farm conditions and anti-predator measures. Reports of losses to large carnivores were gathered by semi-structured interviews with farmers and shepherds for 164 flocks from 147 different farms. Surveyed flocks contained a total of c.79,000 sheep, c.23% of all sheep in Slovakia or c.26% of those in regions with bears/wolves. Data were compared with results from the Poľov 1-01 national hunters’ questionnaire for 2000-02, and provided some idea of the extent of predation and an indication of various patterns among regions, years, seasons, time of day, species of predator and farm conditions. Overall, 48.0% of flocks (n=127) were not affected by wolf or bear predation at all during the period 2001-03. Some regions with carnivores had no reported losses while in other regions up to 82% of flocks were