Wolf Viewing in Eschwege: What does that mean for the region?

Wolf Viewing in Eschwege: What does that mean for the region?

On Tuesday, February 25th, a remarkable wolf seal occurred in Eschwege, Hessen. Shortly before 7 a.m., Sabine L., an employee of Werraland, watched a large animal that crossed Heubergstrasse after it stepped out of a bushes about six meters long. In its description, the wolf looked significantly larger than a German Shepherd and noticed its typical gray -brown fur. This unusual encounter brought the employee to first inform a colleague who immediately contacted the Hubertus hunting club and the private information network Wolf. In addition, the workshop management of Werraland was informed about the sighting, which is in a facility for people with impairments. However, there are also two large open accesses on the Werraland site, which is surrounded by a chain link fence.

in the similar time, around 5:30 a.m., a walker reported on a similar situation. Her Labrador reacted excitedly when she was traveling near the wolf that was later seen. These incidents are not isolated, because in recent years, wolves in towns such as Bad Sooden-Allendorf, Hornel, Ellingerode and Bebra have been spotted in the Werra-Meißner district. Such sightings raise questions about the behavior and integration of wolves into human settlement areas.

The wolf in Hessen

The wolf population in Hesse increases; In recent years, zoologists and conservationists have observed an increase in sightings. According to an examination of the Wolf Hesse website, wolves are advised in several regions, and their return in Germany is both a challenge and an opportunity for biodiversity. In the monitoring year 2022/2023, 184 wolf packs as well as 47 couples and 22 sedentary individual wolves were registered. The highest density of wolves can be found in federal states such as Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and Saxony.

The monitoring shows that a total of 1,339 wolf individuals were documented in 20222/2023. This number is made up of 439 adult wolves, 83 years and 634 puppies. The monitoring of these animals is crucial to ensure the long -term preservation of the species, whereby the focus is on the reproduction of adult wolves.

our responsibility

The challenges associated with the re-appearance of the wolves in Hesse are also evident in questionable incidents such as the fate of a wolf known as the "Pierre-Luigi". He was approached on the A45 motorway in January and consequently genetically examined. His story aroused the sympathy of many people, especially when it became known that the injured wolf survived for several months despite his serious injuries before it was finally illegally killed. These incidents illustrate the tensions that exist between human activities and the protection of wild animals.

In the counts of 2022/2023, the main causes of death were analyzed in addition to the 159 wolves found dead. In most cases (125 animals) the reason was a traffic accident. Such numbers underline the need for education and a safe coexistence between humans and animals.