Wolf attacks goat herd on Monte Tamaro: nine dead, eleven missing

A wolf attacked a herd of goats on Monte Tamaro, in the Alpe Foppa area, on Saturday afternoon. RescueMedia reported this on Monday morning.

The toll is heavy: nine goats died, five were injured fleeing the predator, and eleven are still missing. In total, 25 animals were affected. The search for the missing animals continues, and the toll could still rise.

The herd belongs to Igor and Ramona Pongelli, who own 142 goats. The couple expressed deep frustration over the incident.

The farmers' demands

"Chiediamo di essere ascoltati, chiediamo di sapere quali misure concrete dobbiamo adottare per proteggere le nostre capre" ("We ask to be heard, we ask to know what concrete measures we must take to protect our goats"), the Pongellis said. They are asking for someone to tell them what to do before it happens again, because they do not want to wait for the next slaughter to talk about it once more.

For the farmers, the loss is not only economic. "Ieri non abbiamo perso soltanto delle capre" ("Yesterday we did not just lose goats"), explain Igor and Ramona Pongelli. "Abbiamo perso una parte del nostro lavoro, dei nostri sacrifici e della nostra serenità" ("We lost part of our work, our sacrifices and our peace of mind").

Their words point to a difficulty facing anyone who keeps goats and sheep in the mountains: coexisting with the wolf brings direct losses, in animals killed or missing, and less visible losses, tied to the time and energy each farmer spends protecting their herd, often on isolated, hard-to-monitor alpine pastures.

It remains an open question who should tell farmers which protection measures to adopt case by case, and who should bear the costs. These are questions the Pongellis are raising openly, and that concern, more broadly, anyone working on alpine pastures in areas frequented by wolves. It also remains to be seen whether an episode like this could threaten the Pongelli family's ability to keep bringing their goats up to pasture in coming seasons.