Fauna

Il lupo

Main projects and actions

The Apuan Alps are
an European
and Global Geopark

Since 2001 the initiative for the Apuan Alps recognition as Geopark has started. In 2010, the application dossier for the admission at the European and Global Geoparks Network, working under the auspices of Unesco, has been defined. In 2011, in Langesund (Norway), the admission among the EGN-GGN members

The wolf is one of the wild mammals with the broadest geographical distribution. Indeed, the original range involved most of the northern hemisphere and comprised the entire North American and Eurasian continents. The geographical distribution of the wolf (Canis lupus L.) was strongly reduced in recent centuries following persecution by man, the loss and fragmentation of suitable habitats and the reduction of prey species.

In Italy the range of the wolf reached the minimum peak in the second half of the twentieth century, but the protection granted by law since 1971, together with the reduction of human presence in mountain areas and the increase in wild ungulates, have allowed a new positive trend in population and the recolonization of a large part of the Apennines, central-southern Tuscany and part of the Alps. In the Apuan Alps, the wolf was certainly common and widespread until the eighteenth century, as evidenced by historical documents and legends, but in the early '900 it was extinct in the area.

In the ’80^s several researches confirmed the presence of a stable wolf population on the tuscan side of Tuscan-Emilian Appennine, suggesting a possible migration and expantion towards the Apuan Alps that represented a suitable territory for the species according to wolf behavioural and ecological characteristics. Moreover the foundation of the Regional Park of the Apuan Alps has certainly favored the increase of the main prey species like wild boar (Sus scrofa L.), fallow deer (Dama dama L.), mouflon (Ovis aries L.), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) and red deer (Cervus elaphus L.), inhibiting poaching. Since 2006 the Park Rangers have monitored and collected the indirect signs of wolf presence in the Park, with the aim to verify the presence / absence of the species.

Since 2008 genetic analysis of collected fecal samples, have revealed the presence of 5-6 wolves in the Apuan Alps. Furthermore some specimens were repeatedly photographed or filmed by camera traps (below) giving a clue on the establishment of a breeding pack. In 2014 the breeding was detected for the first time thanks to the response of cubs induced by the transmission of recorded wolf’s calls (wolf-howling). The wolf represent an essential element in ecosystems as large predator placed at the top of the food chain. In addition, it is a specially protected species in International and Italian laws.

some movies courtesy by Canislupusitalia association. Thank you !

It is included in Appendix II (strictly protected fauna species) of the Berne Convention of 1979, Annex IV (animal and plant species of Community Interest in need of strict protection) of Directive 92/43 EEC, better known as the Habitats Directive, in Appendix II (potentially threatened species) of CITES convention.