Slovakia Carpathians
17% of the Carpathians (or roughly 1/6) within Slovakia, and more than 80% of Slovakia lies more than 800m above sea level, so there are other areas of interest in Slovakia that I will cover in another article.
Wolf numbers for Slovakia are estimated to be between 200 and 400. Hunting organisations argue the number is between 1200 and 1800, though hunters often inflate the number of animals so that they can have higher hunting quotas. This is an incredibly short- sighted attitude, as hunters could then wipe out the wolves- ending the ability for wolves to be hunted again. Around 800 bears live in Slovakia, and likely similar numbers of lynx roam the forests as well, though as a secretive animal it is hard to be sure of precise numbers.
As with other areas in the Carpathians such as Brasov, some of the bears in Slovakia have taken to raiding bins in human villages. They are working hard to solve this problem in a way that allows the bears to thrive, however, without success lethal controls are likely to be not far behind. As with elsewhere, tourists visiting the area for the wildlife is incredibly important as it gives the animals worth in the eyes of locals. This means that they will tolerate some inconvenience and therefore the animals will be able to thrive.
