At Vallbona, far in the north, where glistening snow-capped peaks mark the Montenegro border, Marlen guides us up the valley to his land. He is proud of the two hectares he inherited. He can at last call it his own after the restitution of land returned it to private hands. Back in Vallbona a valley herder, Genty, tells tales of wolves taking the animals. Fourteen of the neighbours animals got taken two months ago, he says.
Bears also roam the valley and occasionally take animals but are generally shy.
People in Vallbona can t afford guns, but there are some who can and who exploit the precarious position of animals in the country. In a main street in the capital, Tirana, a souvenir shop is selling a brown bear skin. The thronged market is full of fox furs. Professor Leke Gilknuri, who heads the group, explains that things were getting out of control. Italian hunters have been coming over on organized tours, bringing bait, decoys and rifles.