Learning from the past to inform the future: the challenges in coexisting with large carnivores in Italy
In most Mediterranean countries, humans and large carnivores have been sharing land and resources for millennia, influencing both our culture and our overall relationship with nature. However, the balance of this coexistence largely shifted through time, depending on environmental, social and cultural factors, and leading to an overall decline – close to extinction – of most large carnivore populations. In this talk we will highlight these patterns in Italy, trying to exploit information from past dynamics to better support decision-making processes, now that wolves and other carnivores are experiencing an impressive comeback in human-dominated landscapes, challenging the balance between conservation, ecological dynamics and human activities.
