Wolf pack haunts Rezina residents

The residents of Cuizauca, Rezina district, have been complaining lately about a pack of wolves that lives near their village. They claim that the wolves attack their animals, and may enter the village any day now, reports Info-Prim Neo. Gheorghe Zalevschi, resident of Cuizauca, tells how he was returning from working the field when he saw a large dog-like animal, with a gray pelt, standing in the middle of the road, blankly staring at the horses. Ana Birca, from the neighboring village Otac, claims that three wolves and a pup attacked her horses, which were haltered near the Chisinau-Rezina highway. “The horses panicked, ripped the halters and galloped home. The fear is excruciating, we’re afraid to go work the fields by ourselves. They are wild and may attack humans”, says the woman. People believe that the animals came from Ukraine, during winter when river Nistru’s surface was frozen. “We’re afraid that in winter, when they have nothing to eat, the wolves will enter people’s houses”, says Maria Duca from Cuizauca. The Orhei forestry agency, under whose jurisdiction the forests near Cuizauca and Otac are, does not have any information on the wolf pack. “This is the first time I hear about it”, answered Petru Birca, chief forestry engineer, when contacted by Info-Prim Neo. Lilia Eladi, consultant at Natural Resources and Bio-diversity Division of the Ministry of Environment, says that there is information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that Moldova hosts the wolf species “Canis Lupus”. “Two cases of wolf sightings were reported in months May and June, near villages Oliscani and Fuzauca of the Soldanesti district”, mentioned Lilia Eladi. According to the data from the state forestry agency “Moldsilva”, since the beginning of this year 80 cases of wolf sightings were registered in Moldova.