WOLVES DEMISE

Predator declared extinct in Andalucia but may soon return to Valencia

AS experts predict that wolves may soon return to Valencia, the animal has been officially declared extinct in Andalucia.

The Junta de Andalucia’s environment department has been carrying out a wolf census for 20 years and, despite it being a protected species, they’ve admitted ‘there has been no sign of its presence since 2010’.

Until 13 years ago, it was believed that there were up to eight wolfpacks in Andalucia consisting of as many as 56 wolves principally in the Sierra Morena.

Luis Suarez from the WWF in Spain said: “This confirms the negative trend for the few existing wolf packs in southern Spain, which are threatened through being physically and genetically isolated from wolves in the rest of Spain, by loss of habitat, poaching and illegal hunting.”

But leading biologists believe that the combination of dwindling human population figures in rural areas and the increasing abandonment of agricultural land will encourage the arrival of the predator to Valencia in the coming years.

Castellon Province is predicted to be the main entry point, as several specimens have already been located in the Los Monegros area in neighbouring Aragon after travelling

By Alex Trelinski

down from the Pyrenees. Another possible gateway is the Rincon de Ademuz in Valencia Province.

Opinions on the legendary animal vary greatly. The Spanish government’s decision to ban hunting the Iberian Wolf was met with an outcry on behalf of farmers and hunters, who see the Canis lupus as a dangerous predator that severely threatens their livelihood.

Just a few hundred wolves remained in Spain by the 1970’s due to a policy of eradication through poi-