But this success has been hard won, reflecting a deliberate and sustained focus on maintaining a healthy balance between nature conservation and the needs of human communities.
Slovenia is smaller and more densely populated than Scotland. In fact, it’s smaller than Wales. But despite its small size and relatively populous countryside, it is home to nearly 1000 brown bears, more than 120 wolves and a growing population of around 50 reintroduced lynx.
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Scotland, by contrast, is no longer home to any of these species – but could that change?
In Scotland, we’re used to the cost of living with some wild animals like deer, badgers or even woodpigeons – from collisions with vehicles to impacts on agriculture and forestry. But we’re not used to large carnivores. This lack of familiarity can make living with them seem daunting. And yet, most other countries manage.
Habitat matters of course. Slovenia is now 60% forested, making it the third most forested country in Europe. But other European countries with similar amounts of woodland to Scotland have successfully reintroduced lynx.
Indeed, parts of the Swiss Alps that now support lynx have no more forest cover than the most forested parts of Scotland, and Switzerland has around 2000km2 less woodland than Scotland overall.
Furthermore, while Scottish forests may be largely made up of non-native plantations, any forest with deer in it makes for suitable lynx habitat. A lack of habitat certainly isn’t the reason Scotland lacks lynx today.
During the 19th century, Slovenia’s approach to carnivores was similar to Scotland’s. Wolves and bears were nearly wiped out; early in the 20th century, lynx were completely eradicated. But then attitudes changed. Bears began to be protected in Slovenia in 1935 and the wolf gained full protection in 1993. Slovenians had taken a momentous decision: they wanted to live with large carnivores.
The DINA Large Carnivore Centre at Pivka in the south-west of the country immerses visitors in the world of large carnivores and shows the local municipality’s pioneering work to coexist sustainably with lynx, wolves and bears.
This shift in attitudes came too late for Slovenia’s lynx. But in the 1970s, six cats were reintroduced from Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia). The release was initiated by hunters, who felt Slovenia’s forests were missing something vital. Twelve more have been added in recent years, diversifying the gene pool, and hunters were asked to help build the release enclosures and advise on the choice of release sites. They even took charge of caring for the lynx while they were confined and helped to monitor them after their release.
Local hunter Peter Benedik says that most hunters in this part of Slovenia were originally opposed to lynx, but that they are now evenly divided – a significant shift.
Now, hunters in areas with lynx are given more flexibility in meeting deer management targets, while those in regions without lynx face heavy fines if they fail to meet targets. It might sound like Slovenia has carnivore conservation all figured out, but even here, coexistence remains a challenge. Although many Slovenian hunters now value wolves, others retain a zealous focus on favoured quarry species, and still resent any reduction in the number of deer or chamois available to hunt.
File image of a male wolf
Adjusting to the return of large carnivores has also been difficult for farmers in places like the Julian Alps, in western Slovenia, where all three large carnivore species were hunted out more than a century ago.
The Slovenia Forest Service works with farmers to develop practical measures that reduce conflicts, but some have still given up farming, while others have switched their focus to tourism.
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Some farmers would probably prefer it if large carnivores had never returned, but when it comes to lynx they’re a minority. A survey by Slovenia’s Forest Service revealed that 66% of Slovenian livestock breeders agreed with the statement “it is important to maintain lynx for future generations”. Across the wider public, support for lynx was registered at 88%, with 81% support from hunters.
After wolves returned to his area, Jože Mohorič’s farm suffered two attacks in two years. He erected high electric netting around his pastures and has suffered no further losses. But these mobile enclosures take a day to set up in difficult terrain.
It helps that farmers are offered support to protect their livestock. The Slovenian government will fund 80% of the costs of installing predator-proof fencing after a confirmed predator attack, and offers compensation for livestock proven to have been killed by wolves, bears or lynx. There is also a Help A Farmer scheme, which sends volunteers to work on farms that coexist with predators, increasing public understanding of the practical challenges faced by farmers.
Aleš Sedmak breeds livestock guardian dogs on his farm near Juršče, in southern Slovenia, a region home not only to lynx, bears and wolves, but also to a growing number of golden jackals.
He says wolves will kill lone dogs, and a pair of dogs are not enough to protect a flock – “but if you have three well-trained dogs, you can sleep well at night”.
Sedmak relies on electric fencing to keep bears out of his pastures and on dogs to defend his livestock against wolves, which can jump over low fences or sometimes crawl under them. Lynx aren’t a problem here since they keep to the forest. Golden jackals are his biggest issue – as fierce as wolves and clever as a fox.
Livestock guardian dogs can help, but many farmers are unfamiliar with their use and Sedmak admits some of his Central Asian Shepherd dogs could be dangerous. The state provides insurance, covering farmers against the risk of dog attacks on people, but it’s a clear reminder there’s no single solution to living with large carnivores.
Rok Černe’s department at the Slovenia Forest Service specialises in promoting human-wildlife co-existence. He highlights the importance of education and community relations, saying: “Dealing with the attitudes of people is the most important action we take.”
He stresses the need to invest in protection measures in the worst conflict hotspots, but also sees culling individual problem animals as a critical way to maintain a healthy balance between conservation goals and the needs of human communities.
It would be easy to portray Slovenia as some sort of wildlife utopia, where people and large carnivores coexist in perfect harmony. But the truth is much more complicated.
“We are all in favour of nature conservation in principle,” says Andrej Arih, head of nature conservation at Slovenia’s Triglav National Park. “But when it threatens our personal interests, we tend to change our minds.”
Some believe Scotland is unsuitable for lynx because of the potential for negative impacts on our agricultural communities. But the question is not whether negative impacts might occur, but whether we are willing to manage them. In the end, much depends on our mindset – as well as developing a robust and practical framework. Slovenia reminds us: where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Hugh Webster is rewilding relations officer at rewilding charity Scotland the Big Picture