Dhe first wolf pack in Hesse has had offspring again. As reported by the Hessian wolf center, two puppies fell into a photo trap of the State Office for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology in the Hinterlandswald, the so-called “Territorium Rüdesheim”. This means that the Rüdesheim territory has been confirmed as a wolf area for the current monitoring year.
The photos are evidence of wolf offspring for the third year in a row. This pair of wolves has been settled in the Rheingau since the 2020/2021 monitoring year. In total, with the two new puppies, six puppies of the pack were detected within three years of monitoring, it is said.
According to the wolf center, only the parent animals actually remain permanently settled in the area. The young migrate between the ages of 10 and 22 months to find a mate and a territory of their own.
On their migration they could cover up to 80 kilometers a day. Two puppies, possibly the same ones captured now, are also seen on video from a private photo trap. This can be viewed on the website of the wolf center.
At the present time, four of the six habitats of wolf packs in Hesse have been confirmed with clear evidence: Spangenberg in northern Hesse, Butzbach in central Hesse and wild spots on a military training area in the Rhön. A year in wolf monitoring refers to the period from May 1st to April 30th of the following year and is thus based on the biology of wolves, which give birth to their pups at the beginning of May. All territories must be confirmed in each new monitoring year by genetic evidence of the sedentary animals or evidence of reproduction. Otherwise it is considered expired.
In Hesse, there was evidence of six attacks by wolves on livestock in the Main-Kinzig district in July. One goat and six sheep were killed and two other sheep were injured. In all six cases, the DNA of the she-wolf GW3092f was documented, which was first detected in Hesse in April of this year. However, it is not known from which parental territory the animal originates. In five of the six cases, the grazing animals were not adequately protected in accordance with the grazing animal protection guidelines, the wolf center reports.
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