Scattered individuals and small 
packs, restricted to a few enclaves 
high in the Abruzzi Mountains, are 
all that remain of the Italian wolf 
population. They survive on a diet 
of domestic sheep and human refuse. 
terhouse refuse that had been dumped 
there. 
Thus the wolf seems to have 
adapted itself admirably to man — its 
only enemy and at the same time its 
source of food. It is active when 
humans — creatures that orient them- 
selves chiefly by sight — are either vi- 
sually restricted or asleep. This applies 
not only to nighttime or the season 
of deep snow but also to daytime pe- 
riods when visibility is restricted by 
mist. There is often thick mist on the 
Passo San Leonardo, and in summer, 
when sheep graze in the area, the mist 
brings the wolves. When mist appears, 
the local shepherds immediately take 
their small flocks down into the valley 
and, if visibility is no better there, 
put them back in their sheds. But shep- 
herds from other regions, who often 
have no experience with wolves and 
have big flocks and inexperienced 
dogs in the bargain, do not always 
appreciate the danger and fail to col- 
lect their many sheep and drive them 
down to the valley in good time. 
It was in such a situation that the 
first wholesale killing of sheep during 
our work in the area took place in 
the summer of 1974. Luigi and I were 
informed that in the national park 300 
sheep had been slaughtered by wolves 
in the Maiella area. After calling the 
carabinieri station at Santa Eufemia 
for confirmation, we went immedi- 
ately to the spot. Unfortunately, we 
were too late. Because of the danger 
of an epidemic, 150 dead sheep had 
already been buried with the aid of 
a bulldozer. A shepherd who had been 
present told us that late on the pre- 
vious afternoon there had been a sud- 
den thunderstorm, accompanied by a 
thick mist. Two flocks, each of 500 
sheep, had been grazing around the 
half-deserted village of Roccacara- 
manico on the slopes of Monte 
Morrone, and they were at once driven 
down toward the valley. Just as the 
shepherds were driving the sheep into 
the pens, five to seven wolves had 
suddenly appeared. The dogs had run 
away and the wolves had scattered 
the sheep. 
Giuliano Cappelli, World Wildlife Fund 
When the storm was over the shep- 
herds had counted 150 dead sheep 
in an area of about 250 acres. And 
another 150, belonging to one of the 
biggest sheep owners in the Abruzzi, 
had disappeared. The official veter- 
inarian and the forest police who in- 
vestigated the incident confirmed this 
story, so we had no reason to disbelieve 
it, although the 150 vanished sheep 
struck us as rather strange. Moreover, 
the owner of the sheep was a busi- 
nessman with a doubtful reputation. 
At the insistence of the WWF, the 
Abruzzi authorities had decided that 
year for the first time to pay com- 
pensation to sheep owners for damage 
caused by wolves, as it was obvious 
to us that wolves should not be pro- 
tected at the expense of private in- 
dividuals. Consequently, the owner of 
the missing 150 sheep was entitled 
to full compensation for his losses. 
Since the sheep in question were said 
to be particularly valuable animals im- 
ported from France, the amount in- 
volved was not small. 
Two days later news arrived that 
forty of the vanished sheep had been 
found. This time we were not too late. 
The animals, all dead, were lying close 
to the roadside below the Passo San 
Leonardo, and under the direction of 
the forest authorities, some shepherds, 
and the owner of the sheep, a bulldozer 
was digging a large hole. We were 
just in time to stop the burial and 
have a look at the dead animals. The 
fraud was evident immediately. The 
sheep allegedly killed by wolves each 
had a nice clean slit in the area of 
the throat, obviously made, not by 
teeth, but with a knife. Also the gas- 
trointestinal tract, which putrefies rap- 
idly, had been removed from each ani- 
mal. Some of the animals had cer- 
tainly been gnawed at, but they had 
all been killed by humans. Dogs, 
wolves, and foxes had subsequently 
been able to eat their fill. 
We passed on these observations to 
the forest police, who were astonished. 
The owner of the sheep tried to explain 
to them that it was all the work of 
wolves, but the whole thing was too 
obvious, and a new report was drawn 
up. The sheep owner, who had greeted 
our arrival in a rather unfriendly fash- 
ion, now seemed transformed. A long 
conversation followed in which I used 
very hard words indeed. Luigi asked 
to speak to the owner alone, and he 
turned out to be far more adept than 
I. After many hours of discussion, and 
a good dinner at the hotel up on the 
pass, the truth came to light. It was 
finally agreed that for our part we 
would not make a fuss about the mat- 
ter, while the sheep owner would not 
put out poison for wolves. Moreover, 
he agreed to support our efforts to 
secure the establishment of a large 
protected area in the Maiella region; 
his endorsement promised to be of 
great importance in view of his po- 
litical influence. 
What had happened? The story of 
the storm and the raid by the wolves 
was correct. The wolves had killed 
some sheep but not 1 50, and they had 
not driven away another 150. To in- 
crease their compensation the shep- 
herds had killed more of the animals 
and claimed they had been killed by 
the wolves. The shepherds had not 
had these sheep buried but had sold 
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72 
