Large Carnivores - Our future friends or eternal enemies (A. Trajçe & O. Qazimi)

Albania, in spite of its small area, has the luck to have three of the large carnivores living in Europe; the brown bear, the wolf and the lynx. In many countries of Western and Central Europe these animals have gone extinct or became very rare. Reasons for this were the continuous persecution from humans inducted by the development of agriculture and farming, habitat destruction, competition for game species and fear. The conflict between men and large carnivores like competitive predators is primeval, and was intensified when humans started stockbreeding.

In Albania the large carnivores never went extinct and they still continue to inhabit our forests. But the attitude of the people towards them has not changed much. Even though the law forbids or restricts the hunting of these animals, it is never respected, and they still continue to be hunted whenever and with whatever possible. The situation is extremely critical especially for the lynx, whose population is left with not more than 25 individuals.

The presence of these animals in our forest is extremely important not only because they are a biodiversity value, but most of all because they are indicators of a healthy and rich ecosystem. Standing on the top of the ecological pyramids, the brown bear, the wolf and the lynx are important environmental indicators and every measure taken for their protection and survival is reflected in the lower levels of the ecosystem, helping so for a better and richer environment.