Iberian wolf (Photo: Netícola – Raúl A)

Despite limited food resources and a presence that is not always welcome, the Iberian wolf holds out against all odds in the northwestern corner of Spain, an intensely human-dominated area since prehistoric times.

Although the wolf boasts highly adaptable strategies for survival, landscape is the factor that best explains their distribution across Galicia. They hold out by staying in high places with dense vegetation that are difficult for humans to access and allows them to go unnoticed. Studies have shown that Iberian wolves prefer wild hoofed animals–their favourite prey are roe deer, deer and wild boar–to livestock, in spite of the latter being readily available.

Humans are the known cause of wolf death in Spain in 91% of instances. Some 65% of wolves are killed on the road, 20% by poaching and 6% by legal hunting.

Source: from materials provided by Plataforma SINC, via AlphaGalileo via Science Daily.