Wolf Pack Attacks in Aragatsotn Region, Over 170 Pregnant Sheep Killed, Farmer Suffers $40,000 in Damages

A serious incident occurred today, November 13, in the Aragatsotn region. Between 2:00 and 2:30 AM, residents of the village of Agarakavan noticed a pack of wolves in the area. As villagers emerged from their homes, they discovered carcasses of lambs and sheep, including pregnant ones, in various parts of the yard of 65-year-old Hayk Martirosyan's house on the 1st alley of the 7th street.

Upon hearing the commotion, the wolves fled, and by dawn, villagers found that the Martirosyan family had suffered significant material losses. Numerous carcasses of lambs and sheep were located 2-3 kilometers away from the house in the fields. The family, which is large, suffered damages amounting to approximately $40,000.

Villagers managed to neutralize one of the wolves. It has been confirmed that approximately 170 sheep and lambs, including pregnant ones, were killed in the attack. Over 37 lambs and more than 80 sheep were also reported injured. In a conversation with photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan, the village veterinarian, Armen Asatryan, stated, “All the injured sheep and lambs have slit throats; we provided first aid, but they will not survive due to the severity of their injuries.”

Deputy Mayor Hamlet Hakobyan added, “From 3 AM, we were aware that a large pack of wolves was attacking the village. We have found around 130 carcasses in nearby areas and are still searching for more but are not finding them. We discovered two more carcasses just a short while ago.” Our village veterinarian has attended to 70-80 sheep and lambs, but he said they also would not survive due to the severity of their injuries.

The affected family is large; three brothers had taken out loans and worked tirelessly to reach this point, but now everything has collapsed. We live in an area where grass is brought for feeding at 1800-2000 drams. Just this year, they bought 1850 bundles of hay at 2000 drams each, which amounts to a significant sum. These poor people were supposed to sell the lambs in January to pay off their loans, and now they do not know what to do. The entire village feels pain for those people.

We are all ready to appeal to the government to provide compensation to these families to help them cope with this heavy burden.

In conversation with the photojournalist, villagers said, “The village has a 100-year history, and this is the first time a wolf pack has committed such an act here. The affected family is among the most respected members of the village. They work tirelessly from morning to night in agriculture and livestock. They took loans and were engaged in this work. By the end of the year, the lambs were supposed to be born, and they would sell them to pay off their loans. Now, as they say, the hail strikes the same place as before; this is the exact situation. We want to believe that the government will extend a helping hand to the family, and at least the lending organization will freeze their loans for three years while we see what happens to these unfortunate people. They say don’t hit the wolves; they come to the village and do their dirty work, but if we hit a wolf, I can imagine what will happen—they will consider us traitors to the nation.”