One male wolf nicknamed Alpino walked 600 miles from the Alps to join a pack in Göhrde Forest, where he mated with the alpha female and another she-wolf, producing a staggering 15 pups in 2022.
The same year, another wolf made headlines for a different reason. The wolf known as GW950m killed about 70 farm animals, taking the life of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s 30-year-old pony, Dolly.
European farmers count 65,500 dead livestock yearly from wolf attacks. EU compensation reaches £16 million annually. “The wolf moves faster than politicians,” says Jörn Ehlers, Vice President of a German farmers’ union.
Hunters shot seven wolves trying to stop GW950m but missed their target, accidentally killing his mate instead. Von der Leyen’s family described themselves as “horribly distressed” but the EU chief was hell-bent on change.
Wolf Politics Go Wild
The European Union now reports wolves will move from “strictly protected” to “protected” status in March 2025, giving member states more power to cull the animals. This policy change arrives as wolf numbers doubled to 20,300 since 2012, spreading across territories where they vanished a century ago.
In Sweden, hunters received permission to kill 30 wolves – a tenth of the country’s population. The Swedish government wants to cut minimum wolf numbers from 300 to 170, though no wolf has attacked a person there since 1821. Swedish officials cite rural safety worries, but conservation groups say these fears lack evidence.
The move might have inspired other Arctic regions. In Alaska, officials have restarted shooting wolves from helicopters, planning to kill 80% of wolves across 20,000 acres. The programme aims to boost caribou numbers, but state reports show most caribou deaths come from starvation and disease.
Canines do seem to have a falling out with politicians in recent years. Last year, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem sparked outrage by writing about shooting her “untrainable” hunting dog Cricket. She called the dog “dangerous to anyone she came into contact with” and “less than worthless as a hunting dog”.
But environmentalists have a different way of looking at the pack.
Science Fights for the Pack
Environmental groups remain sceptical of the policy changes. Experts warn the decision lacks scientific backing. Only three of Europe’s nine wolf populations qualify as “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The rest remain “Vulnerable” or “Near-Threatened”.
The World Wildlife Fund argues wolves help control disease spread among wild animals like tuberculosis and African swine fever. They say wolves boost local economies through eco-tourism, pointing to Spain where wolf-watching brings money to rural areas.
Wolf expert Kenny Kenner defends the predators: “A wolf who eats sheep may bother us, but it’s just wolf life. What’s he supposed to eat? Asparagus?” He adds: “We shouldn’t feel threatened, but we should feel awed. Seeing them is an honour.”
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