The Spanish wolf (Canis lupus signatus): a paradoxical case: a preliminary report for 1996

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A century ago the wolf occupied almost the whole of Spain except for a narrow strip along the Mediterranean coast from southern Andalusia to the French border. This shrinking process began fifty years ago and continued for decades. The first fragmentation of the distribution area took place between 1930 and 1940, when the wolves of the Pyrenees were isolated from the main population of western Spain. The latter broke up around 1950 into two distinct populations: a) a large northern population located north of the Tajo river, diminishing north of the Duero river, and b) a small southern population restricted to the mountains of Sierra Morena, Montes de Toledo and Extremadura. The northern population has been spreading since 1980 and its current numbers are between 1,500 and 2,000 individuals which occupy a continuous area of 100,000km². Most wolves occur in densely populated areas and feed on domestic animals, carrion and rubbish. On the other hand, the remnants of the southern population are composed of two isolated groups of 10-15 wolves each. They survive in well-preserved Mediterranean forests (Quercus ilex, Q. suber, Cistus sp., etc.) in the Sierra de S. Pedro (Caceres) and in central Sierra Morena at the junction of Cordoba, Jaen and Ciudad Real provinces. In this area, the human population density is very low and the wolves rely on wild prey (Cervus elaphus, Capreolus capreolus, Sus scrofa, etc.). Paradoxically, the Spanish northern population, which is the largest and probably the healthiest of western Europe, thrives in highly adverse ecological conditions. On the contrary, Sierra Morena and Sierra de S. Pedro in southern Spain support small and highly endangered wolf populations which barely survive in apparently excellent natural conditions. However, the intensive use of fences for big game management makes wolf survival difficult.