crime
After record hike: wolf shot by hunter in Hungary
A wolf in a wildlife park in Bad Mergentheim in Baden-Württemberg (symbol image). photo
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
The Swiss wolf covered almost 2000 kilometers on its way to its own territory. He was shot illegally in Hungary. The police are investigating the suspected shooter.
A hunter illegally shot a wolf who had immigrated from Switzerland in north-eastern Hungary. This was reported by Hungarian media on Thursday, citing the police. The two-year-old male animal from the canton of Graubünden had previously covered a distance of 1900 kilometers when it migrated to Hungary via South Tyrol and Austria.
The path of the young wolf was known because game wardens from the Graubünden hunting office had put a collar with a GPS transmitter on it in March of the previous year. According to the animal protection association Gruppe Wolf Schweiz (GWS), the animal with the designation “M237” covered the longest distance that could ever be detected in a wolf in Europe.
Basically, young wolves leave the parental territory at the age of one to three years to look for their own territory, writes GWS on its Facebook page. They can also travel long distances. “M237” passed the cities of Innsbruck, Vienna and Budapest before reaching the Hernad Valley in northeastern Hungary.
Wolves are also protected in Hungary and may not be hunted. Nevertheless, a hunter shot the young wolf “M237” near Hidasnemeti, near the Slovakian border. The police in Budapest confirmed to several Hungarian media that the authority is investigating the alleged shooter for crimes against nature conservation.
Report at portal boon.hu, Hungary. GWS Facebook page