Saxony
A wolf roams the middle of a residential area – an expert classifies it
Residents in Liebschützberg have also seen the wolf during the day (symbol image)
A wolf has been roaming through the Saxon Liebschützberg since the summer – and that in the middle of a housing estate. The residents are concerned. An expert from the “Fachstelle Wolf” classifies what danger the animal actually poses.
A smear of the tracks showed that the wolf came from the Gohrischheide area near Zeithain – around fifteen kilometers as the crow flies from Liebschützberg. To protect people, an electric fence and cameras were initially installed, but these were removed again at the beginning of September due to construction work. “One day after the fence was taken down, the wolf was back,” says Benjamin Ehrlich (38) from the Borna district, who has since managed with his own surveillance camera, which documents further visits by the wolf around the garden.
Benjamin Ehrlich and his wife Jana Schiefer (36) are afraid. “At the end of June I noticed that in the middle of the night the wolf tore up the dog pool. That was the first time I saw him live,” says Jana Schiefer. The situation was scary. Solar lamps have also disappeared, and the son’s football has been bitten into. In the meantime, the she-wolf has even been seen during the day. “Our son has to go to school every day and also has to make his way through the settlement,” she says. The way is not safe.
Although the specialist department assured that there was no danger to humans, no one was able to tell them how the wolf behaved when it came into contact with a child who might get scared and run away. The family is now demanding that they be helped. “We are in contact with the “Fachstelle Wolf”, but we have the feeling that they are withdrawing more and more.” The district administrator only replied in writing and again referred to the “Wolf department,” says Benjamin Ehrlich. “As long as they do nothing, nothing is done. But when is action taken? Only when a person or an animal is attacked? I don’t understand that,” says Jana Schiefer.
Expert reassured: Wolf no immediate danger to humans
Resettlement could remedy the situation, but the department is skeptical about that. “From the experiences of other countries – especially the Scandinavian countries – we know that wolf resettlement projects do not have a particularly lasting effect,” says Patrick Irmer from the specialist office in the RTL interview. “On the contrary, it can also lead to a further bond between the animal and the human being, so that it could also be counterproductive to take tougher measures now, contrary to professional assessments.” The shooting of the animal is the last resort and must be justified in each individual case, for example by a proven attack on people. “But we are still a long way from this situation, because the behavior of the wolf is currently normal, even natural.”
On the other hand, biting objects is rather atypical, he only knows this behavior from foxes. “In the early days it was a phenomenon that surprised us at the moment because we didn’t know it from Saxony,” says Patrick Irmer from the specialist department. “Who knows, maybe there were also traces of the house dog that the wolf was interested in.” It is also possible that the animal was looking for water because of the dry summer and could finally have found it in the pool.
What to do if you come into direct contact with a wolf?
Otherwise, it is by no means unusual for wolves to be sighted on the outskirts of towns, even crossing them under cover of darkness. All sightings of wolves occurred at dusk or at night. “Approaches from wolves to humans” are “incredibly rare,” says Irmer. They fully understand the concerns of the residents, but also emphasize “that the wolf does not pose any immediate danger to humans”. “In the last twenty years there has not been a single documented attack by wolves on humans in Germany.” Humans do not belong in the prey scheme of predators. An electric fence cannot be installed completely because of the local conditions.
Experts are regularly on site to document and assess the situation. In the case of contact, Irma recommends staying calm, “if necessary, withdrawing slowly, making big, but ultimately also making noises that scare the animal. Be it a loud smack, be it a loud scream. Wolves usually flee at this Confrontation.” Dogs should be leashed when sighted.