The Wolf is here ..............

photo from wikipedia.

I'm always looking for the wolf when we're out in the woods of Mid Jutland. It would be such a speciel experience to see it out in the Danish nature -  and if I could get a photo that would really be great.

But if we go out looking for the wolf it has probably heard us long before we might come close.. The wolf's hearing is so eminent that it can hear a branch break for miles in still air. The wolf can also hear  high frequency sounds which makes it able to hunt squeaking mice in the dark of night. .

The wolf's paw and a human hand, photo wikipedia

The wolves in Denmark come from the German stock - and the socalled "Danish" wolves in Jutland don't know about  borders. They are nomades and can be everywhere in Jutland and Germany. They are extremely perservering and mobile and they can easily back down 200 kilometers during one day and night and thereby in a short time alternate between Germany and Denmark.

Harrild hede, photo:gb

The wolf's favorite food is the huntable animals in the Danish nature. The hunters and the wolves are  competitors about the meat and it is seen from some places on the internet that there is a fierce hatred against the wolf  from hunter-circles in Denmark. There are rumours that wolves have been shot in Denmark, which can lead to two years in prison.

It is obviously difficult to remove the hatred against the large predators and the birds of prey. The goshawk is highly pursued  in some Danish districts because it hunts pheasants. The wolf,  the goshawk and the golden eagle are competitors of the hunters and they are in the risk of being pursued.

I don't think the hunters need to be so jealous. A calculation has been made according the yearly hunting-statistics: The Danish hunters dismantle each year deer, red deer and sika (sika is imported ) which is  representing about 1.700 tons meat. For comparison : a stock of 40 wolves eat about 30 tons meat a year , assuming that the wolf  feed on deer.

forest, Mid Jutland, photo:gb

In Germany they know that deer, red deer and wild boar is the main food of the wolf, hares rabbits and small rodents are a lesser part of the food -  and under 1 % of the wolf's prey is domestic animals.

According to the scientists there would be enough food to feed a Danish stock of ab. 40 wolves. The wolves don't take the healthiest deer in a deer stock, they take the easiest prey, the weak and sick individuals. For the same reason the predators could take part in trimming the stock of red deer. The wolf could also be a scavenger in the Danish nature. Approximately ab. 25.000 deer are killed each year on the Danish Highways. The wolf could take part in cleaning up after the drivers.

The howling of the wolf has been heard in the night in Jutland and an audio recording indicates that there were some puppies among the adults. DNA- analyzes show that there were 11 various male wolves in Denmark in 2014.

We will hardly get a large wolf pack in Denmark like in North America. Denmark will be the terrain of small family-flocks.and a  land of the lonely wolves.




Source: Ulven er kommet - by Jan Skriver,  Danish magazine Natur og Miljø, nr. 4, November 2014.