Historical research of wolf population in Pisan hills between XVII and XXI centuries: evolution of tolerance in hunters, citizens, and naturalists in a conservation perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Worldwide, wolf conservation has been driven by several rapid environmental changes and intense anthropogenic pressures. At the beginning of the 17th century wolves were commonly present in the Pisan hills especially in the upper hills, where killing regularly occurred. Severe reclamation, deforestation actions, human persecution, deep socio-economic and environmental changes occurred between the 17th and 20th century causing the local extinction of wolf in the Pisan hills by the Second World War. A process of wolf recolonization of the Pisan hills started from the second half of the 20th century due to a gradual restoration of the natural environment. In this context, changes of socio-economic and cultural conditions, the technological development, and the mitigation of human’s attitudes toward wolf may be a base for the development of new approaches able to promote humans-wolf coexistence and balance.