A wolf attacked a dog on a leash and its owner in the center of Palombaro, in the province of Chieti. The woman, Nadia Terenzi, 56, had gone out for a walk with her dog but suddenly a wolf grabbed her dog. The woman tried to save him but the wolf returned to the charge, he chased her too, attacking her and making her fall to the ground and took possession of her dog by fleeing and holding it in his teeth. Along the route of the flight through the nearby woods, bloodstains everywhere, it is not excluded that he devoured it.
On the spot, which is part of the Maiella National Park, the deputy mayor Giuseppe Di Nardo arrived first and alerted the rescue services. The Foresters, the Carabinieri di Palombaro, the 118, the health workers of the ASL were called and the Majella National Park Authority was notified. In the meantime, the attacked woman was taken to the PTA of Casoli and then transferred to the Lanciano emergency room. She hurt her knee and wrist in the fall and underwent radiological examinations.
After the attack, she also arrived thereto mayor Consuelo Di Martino, who issued the alert to the population via social media: “It is a rather anomalous behavior, therefore, it could be a potentially dangerous specimen. We recommend the utmost caution. If anyone sees him, please contact us.”
On the phone, Mayor Di Martino adds: “It was a very bad experience. For the vet, the wolf’s behavior was anomalous. He may have been removed from the pack. An English family also reported a wolf attacking his dog the day before yesterday. He could be hungry and potentially dangerous, so don’t leave food on the street. We also found trash buckets destroyed.”
Insiders are cautious, but not surprised: in recent months there have been several apparently critical cases in Italy, and it is clear that we are witnessing a significant ecological change. “We should use a “high” gaze and be aware of the great ecological processes taking place in our territories, but I know it is not easy, especially in this social media age”. This is how the head of the veterinary service of the Maiella National Park Simone Angelucci comments on Palombaro’s attack. “Not only in Abruzzo, not only in Italy, but in many western countries, there is a rapid evolution of the interface between wild animals and men: for over 50 years man has abandoned the territories, agricultural and pastoral practices, the presence in rural areas which for centuries had kept wild populations limited, if not completely absent: then we all went to live in the city and today we expect wild animals to stay “in their place”.