Wolves in Saxony: encounters remain the exception

What dog owners need to be aware of

If you are out and about with your dog in wolf territory, you should keep your four-legged friend on a lead and close to you, advises Hofer. "Being close to its owner is the best protection for the dog." If a dog and wolf meet, you should call the dog to you, put it on a lead and calmly retreat, keeping the dog on a short lead.

If the wolf is still interested in the dog, you should make yourself clearly known by shouting and, if necessary, chase the wolf away by throwing objects. "There is no danger to the dog handler himself in these situations," emphasizes Hofer. The wolves are interested in their domesticated relatives, not in humans.

Are there currently any wolves in Saxony that have been spotted in towns or residential areas?

According to the LfULG, wolves are repeatedly observed crossing towns or captured by automatic cameras in Saxony. This usually happens at night, when people are less active.

From time to time, there are also direct encounters: At the end of last year, for example, the office was informed about a young animal that kept playfully approaching walkers. It was initially tagged and was supposed to be scared off, but died in a traffic accident in Poland in mid-March.

Most recently, a photo from Lauta that circulated on social media caused concern among pet owners. It allegedly shows a wolf carrying a dead cat in its mouth. The photo is known to experts, but the incident cannot be confirmed. Whether the animal in the image is actually a wolf and what it is carrying in its mouth cannot be clearly determined due to the poor image quality.

One thing is certain, however: Wolves rarely attack domestic cats. This is shown by the damage statistics of the LfULG: In the past two years, one cat was killed by a wolf in Saxony.

How many wolves live in Saxony?

The population of wolves has stabilized in recent years. According to the LfULG, there were 35 packs, ten pairs of wolves and a single female wolf. Since 2021/2022, the population has fluctuated between 40 and 50 wolf territories, i.e. the areas claimed by one pack or one wolf pair.

Most of Saxony's territories are located in Upper Lusatia. Here, the experts observed 27 packs, five pairs and the "lone wolf". In addition, there has been a stable population in northern Saxony for several years with currently five packs and one wolf pair.

A wolf pair without offspring was detected in the Dresdner Heide and one pack each in the districts of Meißen and Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge as well as in the Erzgebirgskreis.

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