Wolf population growth slower than expected, researcher suspects illegal hunting

Denmark’s wolf population grew more slowly this year than last, and one of the researchers behind the official count says illegal killing is likely the cause, broadcaster DR reported.

The annual wolf survey, conducted by the Natural History Museum and Aarhus University, put the number of wolves in Denmark at 49, an increase of seven from last year’s count of 42. Last year the population had doubled from 21 to 42.

“Wolf pairs that have established themselves and are preparing to breed stop existing. Everything suggests that people in Denmark are taking the law into their own hands and removing wolves,” said senior researcher Kent Olsen of the Natural History Museum Aarhus, speaking on DR’s P1 Morgen programme.

Olsen said the most likely method is shooting and removal. Once a wolf pair forms, they normally remain together in their territory, he said. “It’s not like one goes down to the shop to buy cigarettes and doesn’t come home.”

He noted that surveillance data raised questions. “Given the number of wolves that we see disappear, someone is helping them on their way and removing them so they are not found.”

Last year the researchers switched to a new counting method that tallies wolf families rather than individuals. The count multiplies each family by seven just before new pups arrive in spring. With seven known wolf families, primarily in western Jutland, the total came to 49. The method is used across much of Europe, Olsen said.

Henrik Vej Kastrupsen, an initiator of the Oksbøl wolf watch and a local politician for the Conservative Party, rejected the researchers’ count, saying the wolf number is higher. “I acknowledge their work and that they know more than I do. But I do not acknowledge that they guess that someone is shooting the wolves,” he told P1 Morgen. He called for wolves to be fitted with GPS tags to end the “guesswork.”

Ole Pedersen, chairman of the association Ulvetid, said it is very likely that wolves are being killed illegally. “So many are disappearing in a short time,” he told P1 Morgen. He argued that the number of pups born does not match the number of known wolf territories, of which researchers list 11. Pedersen said Denmark should aim for a “favourable conservation status” as required by the EU, which he estimated would mean around 200 wolves, though the precise number is unclear.