Sivas wolf packs appearing near residential areas

Wolf packs appearing near residential areas in Sivas, Turkey, have caused concern among local residents. Expert Kangal breeder Hüseyin Yıldız suggests several ecological and human-driven factors for this increased proximity to human settlements.

Yıldız explains that aging wolves often lose the ability to hunt effectively, making it difficult for them to pursue prey over long distances. Consequently, these older wolves seek more accessible food sources in villages, livestock areas, and waste sites. Other contributing factors include food scarcity caused by unlicensed hunting, habitat fragmentation due to urbanization, and severe winter conditions that drive prey into shelters.

Yıldız also noted behavioral similarities between wolves and Kangal dogs when left in natural environments without human intervention, though he emphasized that wolves enter human settlements out of necessity rather than choice.