Wolves and Bears

S1 E3: The wolf (canis lupus) never had good press in Europe . After being hunted for several centuries, it is now protected in the name of biodiversity conservation and 500 of them now live in Italy. The Abruzzo Park is home to around 50 of them and the Park's challenge is to study their behaviour and diet, which has not been well documented in Europe (as opposed to northern America) and to manage the potential conflicts that could arise between wolves and bears and the shepherds, who are the base of the traditional economy there. A tool for that is what they call the " white weapon " : a powerful white dog that is raised with the sheep herds to learn to protect them from possible attacks. The Abruzzo mastiff is so renowned that it is even exported to other Italian regions and even Norway. The Park also created a special label for the local products in order to promote an environmental friendly local economy.