Written by Czech News Agency
Prague, March 25 (ČTK) — A fresh photo from a camera trap is the first piece of evidence that proves the presence of a wild wolf in the Šumava Mountains, southwest Bohemia, the ALKA Wildlife group has written on Facebook.
“This is the first time a camera has photographed a wild wolf, not one escaping from captivity. We discussed the photo with our partners in the region and also experts in Saxony, Bavaria and Italy. We know it is a wild animal,” Tereza Minaříková, from ALKA Wildlife, told the Czech News Agency.
Experts say they believe the photographed wolf is a lonely migrating male.
In early February, a migrating wolf was photographed in the nearby Weinviertel area, on the Austrian side. In March, another was photographed in the Bavarian border zone, adjacent to Šumava.
The wolf population in the Czech-Saxon-Polish border area has been growing, and wolves are starting to spread to Central and Western Europe, places it inhabited in the past.
Last year, the prestigious Science journal released a study saying that the original big beasts of prey, such as the bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine, have been returning to Europe and have already spread across one-third of the continent.
Ten wolf populations live in 28 European countries, Science wrote.