Distribution of the wolf (Canis lupus) in the steppe zone of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and its population dynamics

The article presents data on the extirpation of the wolf in southern Ukraine in the 18th to the 20th century, which was financially supported by landowners and the state. This contributed to keeping the wolf population at a low level and then led to a reduction in its range. In the 1970s, in the ste...

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Published in:Theriologia Ukrainica
Main Author: Anatoliy Volokh
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Ukrainian
Published: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural History 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.53452/TU2510
https://doaj.org/article/691708c4c9c1426d8658da856b482d69
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spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:691708c4c9c1426d8658da856b482d69 2023-09-05T13:18:45+02:00 Distribution of the wolf (Canis lupus) in the steppe zone of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and its population dynamics Anatoliy Volokh 2023-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.53452/TU2510 https://doaj.org/article/691708c4c9c1426d8658da856b482d69 EN UK eng ukr National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural History http://terioshkola.org.ua/library/pts25/TU2510-volokh.htm https://doaj.org/toc/2616-7379 https://doaj.org/toc/2617-1120 doi:10.53452/TU2510 2616-7379 2617-1120 https://doaj.org/article/691708c4c9c1426d8658da856b482d69 Theriologia Ukrainica, Vol 25, Pp 109-125 (2023) range wolf number dynamics destruction hunting management Zoology QL1-991 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.53452/TU2510 2023-08-20T00:34:53Z The article presents data on the extirpation of the wolf in southern Ukraine in the 18th to the 20th century, which was financially supported by landowners and the state. This contributed to keeping the wolf population at a low level and then led to a reduction in its range. In the 1970s, in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, wolves permanently lived only in Moldova; in the north of Odesa Oblast; in the Pavlohrad district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; in Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts, as well as in the north of Poltava Oblast. From here, they spread to neighbouring territories, where they were quickly extirpated. The level of wolf decline was so significant, that in 1970 only 18 wolves were recorded in the steppe zone, and 270 in the whole of Ukraine. This contributed to the dispersal of the roe deer, wild boar, and elk to the south. After the reduction in the size of wolf hunting premiums, hunting pressure on wolves also decreased. Since there is a significant positive correlation between wolf population and hunting pressure (r = 0.93), the wolf's range and population began to grow rapidly. While in 1970 it was found in 14 regions, in 1976 it was already recorded in 18, and in 1981 in 21; in 2000, the wolf occurred in all regions of mainland Ukraine, and in 2003 it entered the Crimea. The process of restoring the wolf's range was accompanied by the emergence of wolf–dog hybrids, some of which are still occurring. Despite the harvest of 616.8 ± 102.68 wolves per year in 1970–1981, the wolf population increased by 6.5 times in Ukraine, and by more than 10 times in the steppe zone. A significant increase in its numbers was facilitated by a decrease in hunting pressure due to the adoption of the USSR Law ‘On the Protection and Use of Wildlife’ in 1980, which prohibited the use of inhumane methods in hunting on wild animals. In 1982–1992, the volume of wolf culling in Ukraine reached 71.1% (45.3–81.5), and in 1993–1999 was equal to 43.1% (34.9–49.3) per year. Naturally, due to the decrease in wolf hunting, there was a ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Theriologia Ukrainica 2023 25 109 125
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
Ukrainian
topic range
wolf
number
dynamics
destruction
hunting
management
Zoology
QL1-991
spellingShingle range
wolf
number
dynamics
destruction
hunting
management
Zoology
QL1-991
Anatoliy Volokh
Distribution of the wolf (Canis lupus) in the steppe zone of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and its population dynamics
topic_facet range
wolf
number
dynamics
destruction
hunting
management
Zoology
QL1-991
description The article presents data on the extirpation of the wolf in southern Ukraine in the 18th to the 20th century, which was financially supported by landowners and the state. This contributed to keeping the wolf population at a low level and then led to a reduction in its range. In the 1970s, in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, wolves permanently lived only in Moldova; in the north of Odesa Oblast; in the Pavlohrad district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; in Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts, as well as in the north of Poltava Oblast. From here, they spread to neighbouring territories, where they were quickly extirpated. The level of wolf decline was so significant, that in 1970 only 18 wolves were recorded in the steppe zone, and 270 in the whole of Ukraine. This contributed to the dispersal of the roe deer, wild boar, and elk to the south. After the reduction in the size of wolf hunting premiums, hunting pressure on wolves also decreased. Since there is a significant positive correlation between wolf population and hunting pressure (r = 0.93), the wolf's range and population began to grow rapidly. While in 1970 it was found in 14 regions, in 1976 it was already recorded in 18, and in 1981 in 21; in 2000, the wolf occurred in all regions of mainland Ukraine, and in 2003 it entered the Crimea. The process of restoring the wolf's range was accompanied by the emergence of wolf–dog hybrids, some of which are still occurring. Despite the harvest of 616.8 ± 102.68 wolves per year in 1970–1981, the wolf population increased by 6.5 times in Ukraine, and by more than 10 times in the steppe zone. A significant increase in its numbers was facilitated by a decrease in hunting pressure due to the adoption of the USSR Law ‘On the Protection and Use of Wildlife’ in 1980, which prohibited the use of inhumane methods in hunting on wild animals. In 1982–1992, the volume of wolf culling in Ukraine reached 71.1% (45.3–81.5), and in 1993–1999 was equal to 43.1% (34.9–49.3) per year. Naturally, due to the decrease in wolf hunting, there was a ...
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Anatoliy Volokh
author_facet Anatoliy Volokh
author_sort Anatoliy Volokh
title Distribution of the wolf (Canis lupus) in the steppe zone of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and its population dynamics
title_short Distribution of the wolf (Canis lupus) in the steppe zone of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and its population dynamics
title_full Distribution of the wolf (Canis lupus) in the steppe zone of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and its population dynamics
title_fullStr Distribution of the wolf (Canis lupus) in the steppe zone of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and its population dynamics
title_full_unstemmed Distribution of the wolf (Canis lupus) in the steppe zone of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and its population dynamics
title_sort distribution of the wolf (canis lupus) in the steppe zone of ukraine at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and its population dynamics
publisher National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural History
publishDate 2023
url https://doi.org/10.53452/TU2510
https://doaj.org/article/691708c4c9c1426d8658da856b482d69
genre Canis lupus
genre_facet Canis lupus
op_source Theriologia Ukrainica, Vol 25, Pp 109-125 (2023)
op_relation http://terioshkola.org.ua/library/pts25/TU2510-volokh.htm
https://doaj.org/toc/2616-7379
https://doaj.org/toc/2617-1120
doi:10.53452/TU2510
2616-7379
2617-1120
https://doaj.org/article/691708c4c9c1426d8658da856b482d69
op_doi https://doi.org/10.53452/TU2510
container_title Theriologia Ukrainica
container_volume 2023
container_issue 25
container_start_page 109
op_container_end_page 125
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