{
  "id": 18011434,
  "title": "Human-wildlife coexistence with wolves in Europe requires a holistic approach",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/human-wildlife-coexistence-with-wolves-in-europe-requires-a-holistic",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-03T18:48:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/11/human-wildlife-coexistence-with-wolves-in-europe-requires-a-holistic-approach/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "During the 19th and 20th centuries, gray wolves were nearly extinct in Western and Central Europe. However, due to strict protection measures implemented across the region in recent decades, their populations have grown significantly, with a reported increase of 58% between 2012 and 2022. While this is considered a conservation success story, it has also brought about long-standing sociocultural challenges, particularly in relation to human-wildlife coexistence with farmers. Wolves occasionally prey on livestock, which can result in financial losses for farmers.\n\nSocial scientist Emu-Felicitas Ostermann-Miyashita, from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, has been studying this conflict specifically in Germany. Ostermann-Miyashita has published suggestions for sustainable wolf-livestock coexistence, but she emphasizes that the issues are not as black and white as they may appear in European media. Her studies suggest that public attitudes and perceptions towards wolves are more nuanced and varied than commonly portrayed. While some individuals may have strong negative feelings towards wolves, others have equally strong positive sentiments. Ostermann-Miyashita's research indicates that there is a more complex and gray area when it comes to public attitudes and perceptions towards the species.\n\nThe European Union has recently voted to reduce the protected status of Eurasian gray wolves (Canis lupus lupus), a move that critics argue could jeopardize the progress made in the animal's recovery.",
  "summary": "For a time during the 19th and 20th centuries, gray wolves were practically extinct across Western and Central Europe. Now, thanks to strict protection measures in countries across the region, their populations have risen over the past couple of decades — including a reported surge of 58% between 2012 and 2022. On the one hand, […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}