A Stark Contrast to the "Nukgu Syndrome": Ten Wolves Poisoned in Succession at Italian National Park

Mass Deaths Near Italian National Park
Authorities Launch Investigation Amid Possible Link Between Cases
Entire Wolf Pack May Have Been Lost

Recently, while the so-called "Nukgu Syndrome" has led to wolves being portrayed as friendly and charming figures in South Korea, the reality in Italy has been quite the opposite. Ten wolves were consecutively found poisoned near a large national park in central Italy, shocking the local community.

On April 21, Yonhap News TV, citing reports from the British daily The Telegraph and Italian local media, introduced the case in which ten wolves were recently found dead in succession inside and around the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park.

Ten wolves were found consecutively poisoned near a large national park in central Italy, shocking the local community. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Pixabay

First, five wolves were discovered in the Pescasseroli area, followed by five more in the Alfedena region. Local judicial authorities believe the two incidents are connected and have launched a full-scale investigation. Both the park authorities and investigators initially suspect poisoning. It was reported that, during an inspection by a park detection dog team in Alfedena, traces believed to be poisoned bait were found. All wolf carcasses and collected evidence have been seized under the direction of the local prosecutor, and are being analyzed at the Abruzzo and Molise Institute for Animal Health to determine the exact cause of death.

Notably, there is a possibility that the five wolves found in Alfedena were all members of a single pack killed at once. Locally, there are concerns that this incident could go beyond the loss of individual animals and lead to the collapse of entire packs within the ecosystem. The national park authorities also regard this as a major incident that could threaten the overall balance of the regional ecosystem, not just a matter of a few wolves.

The impact extends far beyond wolves alone. Park officials and environmental groups have warned that the use of poison could indiscriminately threaten not only wolves but also foxes, birds of prey, domestic dogs, and even the Marsican brown bear, a symbolic species of the region. Locally, there has been a series of criticisms that such methods constitute illegal and indiscriminate wildlife crime. The Italian environmental organization WWF described this incident as "one of the most serious wildlife crimes of the past decade." WWF also expressed concern that, as seen in a recent case in Tuscany where wolves were killed and mutilated, hatred and misinformation surrounding wolves are ultimately leading to violent crimes.

In Italy, the wolf has been deeply embedded in the country's history and symbolic system for a long time, appearing in the ancient Roman founding myth as the creature that nursed Romulus and Remus. Pixabay

The background to the case is said to involve both the recovery of the wolf population and conflicts with local farmers. The Italian wolf population had declined to the brink of extinction by the 1970s due to overhunting, but has since rebounded after being designated a protected species. According to the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), the wild wolf population nationwide was estimated at about 3,300 in 2022. As wolves have expanded their habitats, tensions have also risen with farmers raising sheep, goats, and dairy cows, leading to coexistence measures such as installing electric fencing, deploying large livestock guardian dogs, and providing compensation for damages.

However, the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, where this incident occurred, is actually regarded as one of the regions most actively experimenting with solutions for coexistence between wolves and farmers. For this reason, local interpretations suggest that this poisoning is not simply a random crime, but a symbolic attack undermining both protection policies and efforts towards coexistence. Prosecutors are currently tracking which toxic substances were used and who disseminated them and by what means.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.