“Bears, Wolves, Lynx, and Jackals: Living With Large Carnivores in Slovakia”

by

Robin Rigg
Slovak Wildlife Society

Saturday, June 7, 2025
2:00 pm ET

To register to participate in this online event, visit Zoom
to reserve your spot.

Slovakia has a long history of carnivore conservation, with brown bear protection dating back to the First Czechoslovak Republic or even Austro–Hungarian times. Since the 1970s, Eurasian lynx caught in Slovakia have been helping to re-establish the species in Central and Western Europe. The grey wolf has had various forms of legal protection for half a century. These measures, together with thriving populations of wild prey and favorable changes of land use, have enabled the recovery of Slovakia’s large carnivores, which have now been joined by golden jackals. The numbers of wolves and, especially, bears have increased substantially. The focus has therefore shifted from saving these species to learning to live with them. This talk explores the challenges and opportunities of carnivore presence, focusing on the work of the Slovak Wildlife Society in helping to foster sustainable approaches to human–wildlife coexistence.

Robin Rigg is a dual Slovak–British national specializing in wildlife conservation, research, management, and coexistence with local communities. He is Chairman of the Slovak Wildlife Society (www.slovakwildlife.org) and a member of the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe. Robin has a Bachelors degree in Natural, Medical, & Veterinary Sciences from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Masters in Zoology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He is writing his PhD dissertation on Slovakia’s wolves, at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.