Many different authorities, organisations and ordinary citizens interested in large carnivores participate in the conservation and management of predator populations. Well defined and planned hunting of large carnivores forms a part of successful population management and conservation efforts.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry approved the new Management Plan for the Wolf Population in Finland on 5 November 2019. The updated management plan is based on the Management Plan for the Wolf Population in Finland adopted in 2015. It is the third management plan concerning the wolf population implemented in Finland.
Thu Jan 19 11:17:00 2017
Large carnivores may have a major impact on moose population densities. A high density bear population may decrease moose calf production by >20%. In wolf pack territories with no substantial alternative prey species, such as white-tailed deer and reindeer, 25–50% of the annual increase of moose population may be taken by wolves, depending on territory size, pack size and local moose density.
A predator pit entails a situation where predation regulates a prey population at constantly low densities. That is, the consumption of prey by predators increases whenever prey populations begin to increase. The precondition for a predator pit to emerge is that more than one predator species share the same low density prey population, and that alternative prey species exist for the predators. With moose this concept traces some decades back to Southern Alaska where abundant populations of wolves, brown bear and black bears shared locally sparse moose population. This seems to presently hold true also with predation on moose in North Karelia.
It is, however, very unlikely that the low moose density of this region would sustain a high number of wolves for an extended period of time due to the absence of alternative ungulate prey. Furthermore, while wolves are more or less dependent on moose for food, moose do not have a big impact on its consumption rates by the omnivorous bear. The absence of alternative prey for the wolf may weaken the potential for its regulatory impact on moose and thus the emergence of a predator pit. Without alternative prey, wolf numbers will eventually decrease with decreasing moose population size.
The third consumer of moose, human being, has tools to regulate the abundance of both moose and its predators. An ideal eco-socio-economical management solution for moose populations in Northern Karelia would involve minimizing moose damage to forestry and road accidents, while maintaining sufficient numbers of moose for both man and carnivores. Unfortunately, such an ideal is not easy to achieve in easternmost Finland where abundant large carnivore populations are shared with northwestern Russia.
Natural Resources Institute Finland's (Luke) estimates on the numbers of animals are primarily based on sighting data collected by a volunteer organisation consisting of the contact persons of regional game management associations. Other utilised methods include on-the-ground censuses made by hunter...
As a member of the European Union, Finland commits to taking EU legislation into account in its decision making. The Directives of the European Community are incorporated into national legislation, which extends their reach to also cover all private operators. The status of large carnivores is regul...
Wolf (Canis lupus) The wolf is the largest canine living in the wild. Out of all the northern predators, the wolf is the most social species that prefers to live in packs formed by family units. Wolves communicate with each other via postures, gestures, facial expressions, scent marks and howling. R...
The views held by Finns are sometimes conflicting when it comes to the population management and conservation of large carnivores. Research has been conducted on how Finns think our large carnivore populations should be managed. This data has been collected via surveys, interviews and public meeting...
