Norway

CONSERVATION OF LARGE CARNIVORES

Since the foundation in 1971, WWF Norway has used a lot of efforts on conservation of large carnivores. Because the large carnivores sometimes prey on domestic animals like sheep and reindeer, conservation of these animals may be one of the most difficult tasks to handle - both for the government and the environmental organisations. The government`s challenge is to balance the need to maintain sustainable carnivore populations with the need to maintain a sustainable farming industry.

In Norway, 2,4 million sheep are grazing in the wilderness each summer, and around 1.3 percent of these are taken by carnivores. This is the national average, but in some areas the toll taken by carnivores is much higher. To increase people`s general acceptance of large carnivores, the biggest challenge now is to find new and alternative methods of keeping domestic animals which minimise their risk of ending up carnivore prey.

Many methods have been tried out - like sheep-herding, using guardian dogs, smells and moving the animals to alternative grazing fields - but the optimal method or combination of methods has yet to be found. An important explanation of the failure is also that many farmers hesitate to try new methods. Many farmers claim that shooting the carnivores is the best method of minimising their losses.

The four large carnivores in Norway:

  • Lynx: Population counts 500-600, with a stronghold in Eastern Norway, Middle Norway, and Northern Norway. The government accepts quota hunting in several counties in February.

  • Wolverine: Around 350 in Scandinavia, of which 130-190 are in Norway. Except for an isolated population of 25-35 individuals around Dovrefjell and Rondane in Southern Norway, most of the population is in Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark counties. The government has introduced licensed hunting to minimise losses of sheep and reindeer.


    Brown Bear

  • Bear: Norway is sharing a bear population with Sweden. A century ago, Norway had 55 percent of the population, while Sweden had 35 percent. Today the situation is the opposite: Sweden has 98 percent and Norway only 2 percent. Our neighbour country has more than 1000 bears, while Norway on average only has between 25-55. Reproduction is only confirmed in Finnmark. Most of the bears observed in Norway are young males searching for females. They will hardly find any females in Norway, as most of them are stationary and concentrated in four breeding areas in Sweden.


    Wolf

  • Wolf: This is the most threatened animal in Scandinavia. Until 1990 there were only 10-12 in all of Scandinavia, but the past few seasonss have have more than doubled the population. In spring of 1996, a minimum of 35-42 wolves were tracked in Scandinavia, of which 5-7 were found in Norway. Last year, even bigger population growth was observed. Just in Norway, two reproductions with at least 3 cubs in each were confirmed - the first in 50 years.


WWF`s large carnivore work includes:
    Lobby work with the government in order to secure sustainable populations of the four big carnivores in Norway.

  • Environmental education and advocacy.

  • Field projects - such as support to a Norwegian research programme on wolverines.

  • "Carnivore-friendly" sheep-farming - cooperation with farmers who want to try out new methods to reduce loss of sheep to carnivores.

  • Dialogue and cooperation with farmer`s organisations.

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