There are three types of large animals living in the Republic of Croatia, the Eurasian lynx, the bear, and the wolf. While these animals do their best to stay well away from human interaction of any kind, there are rare occasions when they make an appearance a little too close to comfort, and even a little too close too home. One young hunter spotted three wolves drinking water in Lovreć, Split-Dalmatia County, causing a panic among locals.
While wolves have been protected in Croatia since 1995, they still carry their fearsome reputation, which may likely be uncalled for. Since these pack animals prefer to stay as far from the spotlight as possible, rarely coming into any form of contact with humans or human settlements, they aren’t a common sight. Sadly, when they are seen more than once in an area close to humans, people begin to worry.
As Slobodna Dalmacija/Mladen Nejasmic writes on the 2nd of February, 2019, in the area of Sidoča, in the place called Pozicija near the hamlet of Čolckušići in the Municipality of Lovreć in Split-Dalmatia County, young hunter Marijan Petričević managed to capture a rare video of a small group of wolves, consisting of what appear to be three adult individuals, drinking water on from a quagmire area designed for wild pigs.
The unusual and somewhat alarming picture immediately spread like wildfire across social networking sites, making the small group of Lovreć wolves become big news for a short time.
Many residents of that area claim that those three wolves are part of a larger pack which seem to have territory in the Kamešnica – Zavelim – Sidoč – Biokovo area, and that they are seen more often than usual in these dreary winter conditions.
Because of the large number of predators, the number of wild pigs has been reduced, a situation which is likely to upset hunters who make a living, or who simply live off their meat.
What is worrisome to the locals of Lovreć and other border areas in Split-Dalmatia County is the fact that hunters operating within this region have spoken about the constant presence of about a dozen wolves living permanently in that area.
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Click here for the original article by Mladen Nejasmic for Slobodna Dalmacija
