Funding the base of long term large carnivore conservation in Hungary
ID No.: LIFE00/NAT/H/7162
Survey of the distribution of wolf and lynx by questionnaire
The method of mail survey by questionnaires allows us to quickly get an overview
about the actual state of repatriation. The DoWBGM has already extensive experience in
using this method, as we have been carrying out such surveys since 1987. We have involved
the game management units operating on the area of the project. The reason for this is that i.
this way we could cover the whole area, ii. the map and descriptive data of the game
management units are available in a form, which is easy to manage, iii. the game management
experts (game keepers) possess the most detailed knowledge about large carnivores iv. and
their ratio of reply is the best, too.
Besides acquiring information we had another purpose with this survey, namely to
establish communication with the hunters. In our belief the illegal shooting can only be fought
back with their cooperation. We carry out this survey every year, since in case of more often
survey people are less likely to reply. The advantages of this method are its relative
cheapness, low human resource demand and that during repetitions it provides results, which
are comparable and verifiable.
When developing the questionnaire we tried to ask such questions from the game
managers, which are easy to answer unequivocally. However, we also paid attention on that
several independent questions should possibly support or check the answers given to the
others. Since the occurrence of the large carnivores is relatively rare, when evaluating the
answers any positive reply has to be evaluated as YES. The answers can be linked to the map
by using the code of the game management unit (GIS based database).
The result of year 2002 questionnaire survey match well the data of the similar surveys
since 1987. According to these the occurrence of the large carnivores in Hungary is currently
typical in the Northern Mountain. (Data from outside the research area of LIFE are from
another program.)
The wolf regularly appears in Zemplén and around Aggtelek, and irregularly appears
at the Bükk, as well. Additionally it occurs at the southern part of Duna-Tisza köze and on the
Dráva-sík. For the two latter its presence is more occasional, in comparison with this its
occurrence in the Northern Mountain is concentrated and regular.
The occurrence of the lynx is limited to the Northern Mountain. Its appearance is
rather scattered, the observances are many times ambiguous. It typical occurrence areas are
Börzsöny, Zemplén hills, Aggtelek karst, and sometimes the Mátra or Bükk. There is a
curiosity amongst the results: there is some occasional observation of lynx in the eastern side
of the country, near to the Romanian border. The last observation in this region was in 1998.
Any lynx and wolf occurrence in Somogy county is doubtful.
The result of year 2002 (See map 1 at the end) surveys matches the above with the
difference that the occurrences of this year are lower in numbers. Both in case of wolf and
lynx we received news about lower number of observations than in the previous years.
There may be several reasons behind. According to the preliminary studies in Hungary
we can suppose that there is a kind of cyclic trend in the number of the members of the large
carnivore population. In a cycle the number of two large carnivores show increase or decrease
alternately in the same area.
Another option is that maybe there were illegal shootings in Hungary or in the
neighboring Slovakia. The populations along the border are in close connection, but the kind
of the connection is still not clarified. In Slovakia a new nature protection regulation has been
Project Manager: Laszlo Szemethy PhD
Contact person: Marta Markus: [email protected]
Funding the base of long term large carnivore conservation in Hungary
ID No.: LIFE00/NAT/H/7162
introduced recently – as reported by the Slovakian colleagues – according to which from 1st
January 2003 wolf has been fully protected in the area of the Slovakian karts. However, prior
to the introduction of the severity the number of illegal shootings had increased. The decrease
in the number of the Hungarian wolf population may be related to this. The hunting of lynx
has neither been allowed for decades in Slovakia.
The 2003 results (see map 2 at the end) of mail questionnaire survey is similar to the
one of 2002 but the mentioned curious lynx occurrence in the eastern part of the country and
the doubtful large carnivore presence in Somogy county disappeared. This year there was less
YES answer to the wolf presence in Zemplén hills, and a bit more in Bükk hills. According to
the result of two years the most stable population of wolf is in the Aggtelek and in Bükk
region and more-or less sable in the Zemplén hills. Lynx population is not as stable as wolf's,
but regularly appears in Börzsöny hills and in Aggtelek region, more occasionally in Matra
and Zemplén hills. In 2003 the game managers did not strike the presence of lynx in Matra
region.
So far we cannot say for sure, what is the reason behind the apparent decrease in the
population by progressing ahead with the study we are looking for the answer whether the
decrease is part of a natural process or is it caused by human impact. At the same time many
useful answers have been received through the questionnaires, which help to implement the
measures for the protection of the species and the habitat more target focused. A nonnegligible positive effect of the survey is that – together with the distribution of knowledge
and the personal meetings – the hunters already experience greater attention toward the large
carnivores. This has the impact of keeping back the illegal shootings.
Project Manager: Laszlo Szemethy PhD
Contact person: Marta Markus: [email protected]
Funding the base of long term large carnivore conservation in Hungary
ID No.: LIFE00/NAT/H/7162
Map 1
Data background: 10 X 10 km UTM map
Scale: 1:2 500 000
Map of 2003
Result of the mail questionnaire survey of large carnivore
distribution in Hungary 2002
Project Manager: Laszlo Szemethy PhD
Contact person: Marta Markus: [email protected]
Funding the base of long term large carnivore conservation in Hungary
ID No.: LIFE00/NAT/H/7162
Map 2
Data background: 10 X 10 km UTM map
Scale: 1:2 500 000
Map of 2004
Result of the mail questionnaire survey of large carnivore
distribution in Hungary 2003
Project Manager: Laszlo Szemethy PhD
Contact person: Marta Markus: [email protected]