THE COEXISTENCE OF WOLVES AND HUMAN POPULATIONS IS DEPICTED IN A RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOK BY JOURNALIST RICARDO J. RODRIGUES

“Malditos – histórias de homens e de lobos” published last month by Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos, is Ricardo J. Rodrigues’ most recent work. In this raw and unbiased report on the historic coexistence of wolves and human populations, the research and conservation studies on Iberian wolves carried out by CIBIO-InBIO researchers Helena Rio-Maior and Francisco Álvares, is highlighted.

Unfolding along the book’s pages is an open invitation to readers to witness and reflect upon the conflicts between shepherds and wolves. This longstanding contention has been forged upon a single motif: the competition for territory, livestock and survival. Taking into account the decline of the number of wolf packs currently identified in Portugal, it seems as though the shepherds are becoming the winners of this clash of species. However, the loss of such an important predator threatens the stability of our ecosystems, a fact that has led to conservation management studies and to political measures that envision the protection of the Iberian wolf. The conflict remains until today, and the coexistence of both species in the same territory originates stories of passion and hate, of anger but also tolerance, as it is well depicted in this interesting book.

The book was officially presented in Montalegre on March 12, 2015, and again, a week later, in Lisbon, on March 18, 2015.

To know more about this issue, please follow the links below:

Homens do monte e os lobos | Sapo Vídeos | Mar 15, 2015 (in Portuguese only)

Nos montes, há lobos e homens a lutar pela sobrevivência | Observador | Mar 15, 2015 (in Portuguese only)

Lobos. Histórias de guerra e de paz com magia dentro | Público | Mar 16, 2015 (in Portuguese only)

Os Lobos, os Homens e a Guerra entre eles | Notícias Magazine | Mar 16, 015 (in Portuguese only)