Wolves are one of the most cruel and strong pack animals living in Russia and neighboring countries. The population of these beautiful predators is very large here, which causes great damage to the locals. It is for this reason that wolf hunting is popular in Russia. In some regions, hunters are rewarded by local authorities for every wolf they kill.
Winter is the perfect time for traditional Russian wolf hunting with flags. Hunters have long and willingly used this method of hunting, without thinking why wolves are afraid of red flags. With such an organization of hunting, the entire flock is usually destroyed.
Features of the behavior of wolves
Wolf is a very smart and cunning animal with sharp hearing and excellent eyesight. He hears a quiet rustle from a distance of more than a kilometer. When hunting alone, a large wolf can defeat a representative of almost any local animal species. Only an adult boar and an elk are able to fight back a wolf. However, eventhese animals become helpless before the wolf pack.
Wolf packs have their own habitats, but in winter, in conditions of food shortages, they tend to migrate closer to settlements. Here they can always get some food: at least catch a dog or find something edible in the waste.
Why wolves are afraid of red flags - smell
Wolves are by nature very cautious and try to avoid human contact. They go into conflict with him only in a hopeless situation. Packs of wolves in winter, when seasonal famine sets in, are often forced to hunt near human habitation, they are well aware of its smell.
To the question: "Why are wolves afraid of red flags?" the answer is simple: wolves are afraid of any flags set by man.
Hunting with a round-up and beaters is always arranged in the places where the wolf pack lives permanently. The animals know this territory well, and the appearance of new objects in their usual places, in this case, flags smelling of a person, undoubtedly inspires them with fear. Therefore, when organizing such a hunt, it is recommended to keep flags at least a few days before hunting in the house so that they absorb the smells of a human home. Natural fabric absorbs odors better than synthetics.
Flags, being an alien object, frighten wolves, and the instinct of self-preservation does not allow them to cross the roundup line.
Other reasons
The cordon of the hunting area is not the only reason why wolves are afraid of red flags. Footprints in the snow with the smell of a man, screamsbeaters, the sounds of gun shots and the death of relatives - all this is imprinted in the memory of those who survived such raids of wolves. And animals, especially pack animals, have the ability to indirectly learn in natural conditions.
The wolf that broke through the flags is not called hardened for nothing. He is able to take the whole flock through the cordon with him during the next raid.
The reason why wolves are afraid of red flags is not their color. Wolves are nocturnal predators, they do not distinguish colors. To the question: "Why are wolves afraid of red flags?" the scientific answer can only be complex.
Foxes and red flags
It should be noted that foxes, like wolves, are afraid of red flags. Why? They also hunt near human dwellings and can be stopped by a cordon line with flags. These smart animals live next to humans, so they have repeatedly experienced the chase, seen the death of their relatives and know the smell of human things. They will try to find a safe place to break out of the area surrounded by hunters, moving along the cordon line.
Therefore, when choosing a place to round up wolves, you must always pay attention to the presence of traces of a wild boar or an elk in the cordon zone. Frightened by the beaters, these animals will break through the cordon line anywhere and take the wolf pack with them.
A wolf that breaks out of a hunt becomes very wary, almost impossible to detect and kill. Such wolves are called seasoned.
Winter hunting
Flags work best during the winter season when there are no leaves or grass to hide the fabric and distract the animal. The impression is aggravated by clearly visible human footprints in the snow along the contour of the cordon and the silence that is characteristic of the winter forest. Usually flags are 9-15 cm wide and about 25-35 cm long. Red or orange colors are preferred as they are highly visible to hunters against tree trunks and snow. Wolves, like all members of the canine family, cannot distinguish colors. The flags are tied to a line at a distance of about 35-50 cm from each other.
Conclusion
Wolf is a highly intelligent and adaptive animal. Closely adjoining to the person, the flock grows wiser every year. With the advent of snowmobiles among hunters, wolves have learned to get away from them. In the confrontation between the wolf and the man, the winner has not yet been identified.
A pack of wolves in winter is easy to spot in the footsteps. Surround and destroy is not always possible. Traditional hunting with red flags and beaters is not always effective. Many wolves are no longer afraid to go beyond the flags and cordon boundaries - they have learned to bypass them.
Therefore, it is very important to destroy the entire flock during the hunt.
