Armenian City Besieged By Wolves – Wolves Close In On Yakutia Settlements

Armenian city besieged by wolves (Voice of Russia, Feb 16, 2012):

Residents of the city of Sisian, in the south of Armenia, try not to go out at night for fear of wolves, according to local media reports.

Due to heavy snowfall wolves can not find food in the mountains and at night enter the town in search of food.

The wolves have started to prey on stray dogs as a source of food.

So far there have not been any reported cases of attacks on humans.

(BBC)

Armenia culls wolves after cold snap attacks (AFP, Feb 16, 2012):

YEREVAN — The authorities in Armenia on Thursday offered cash rewards to hunters who kill wolves after increasing reports of attacks on rural villages exacerbated by recent cold weather and heavy snow.

“Because of the heavy snowfall, wolves began to appear more frequently in populated areas and it became necessary to deal with them,” Armenian Environmental Protection Minister Aram Harutiunian told a news conference.

The authorities will pay around $260 (200 euros) to hunters who kill a wolf — a significant amount in impoverished regions of the ex-Soviet republic.

Wolves close in on Yakutia settlements (Voice of Russia, Feb 10, 2012):

Some 240 wolves are closing in on several settlements in Yakutia’s Aldan region, and the residents are under an apprehension for their lives. Poisons were extensively used in the past to fight wolves, but now this is a banned practice.

To use helicopters against wolves would prove quite costly. An ad-hoc centre has been set up in Yakutia, with experts considering the best way to solve the problem. Every year wolves kill many reindeer at deer farms in Yakutia.

Wolves Scavenge As Italians Warn Of Food Shortages And Take Shelter From Biting Cold

And L’Aquila and Trasacco are damn far south and close to Rome!



Größere Kartenansicht

Wolves scavenge as Italians take shelter from biting cold (ABC News/AFP, Feb 8, 2012):

Wolves scavenged in isolated snow-covered villages, the canals in Venice froze over, and the death toll rose to 30 as freezing weather continued across Italy on Tuesday.

Snow kept falling in the north of Italy, with temperatures dropping to minus 25 degrees Celsius in Marcesina on the shores of Lake Garda, and there was black ice in Calabria and Sardegna in the south.

Read moreWolves Scavenge As Italians Warn Of Food Shortages And Take Shelter From Biting Cold