Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – The possible sighting of a pair of wolves in Baden-Württemberg is heating up the discussion about the dangers of pack formation. Two wolves were photographed in a photo trap near St. Blasien earlier this week. According to experts, it is very likely that it is a couple. In the region, a male is already considered sedentary, and most recently a female wolf, a so-called female, was genetically proven for the first time.
Wolves mate in the so-called mating season from February to April. “Therefore, it can also be assumed that they form a pack in the southern Black Forest if they stay together,” says Micha Herdtfelder, head of the lynx/wolf work area at the forestry research institute in Freiburg. He is certain that the phototrap picture shows a male and a female. “Males don’t travel together. They would treat each other differently in pairs and as competitors,” said the wildlife biologist on Thursday. However, it is unclear whether the presumed female is the last animal to be detected from the Munster Valley (Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district).
The experts are now eagerly awaiting the images from the camera traps in the coming weeks. If a female stays with a male for three months, she is considered territorial. And if they mark their territory in pairs, this is counted as a pair formation. A pack consists of a pair and at least one offspring.
Shepherds warn clearly against a further spread of the wolf. She is an existential threat to grazing animals, said the managing director of the State Sheep Breeding Association, Anette Wohlfarth. The sheep breeders are demanding an upper limit. “Wolves that are encroaching must be removed immediately and without any bureaucratic effort.”
In Baden-Württemberg, three wolves are currently still considered sedentary, they are all males in the Black Forest. Two of them roam the south of the region. A wolf is considered sedentary if a clearly assignable proof is still found after six months.
