Roughly translated by TWIN Observer
STOCKHOLM / TT
The infamous female wolf from Junsele was released today in Stockholm County, according to the EPA. But the risk is that she could turn back north again.
The female, which is considered genetically valuable, was captured south of Åsele on Thursday and then transported south.
The reason for the move are the problems that are caused in reindeer herding. If it will stay in the vicinity of the release site is unclear. The wolf has already moved south three times and on each occasion had returned to the reindeer area again again.
“There is a high risk that she goes north again, which may be related to that she has lived much of her life on reindeer. But she has never returned to the exact same spot as before, and with the move, we have solved the acute situation of reindeer in Junsele”, says Magnus Kristofferson, project manager at the Agency.
The method to immediately release a wolf after moving it, is called a “hard release” in North America. Another method is the “soft release”. This puts the wolf in a pen at the site where it will get used to the new surroundings for a long time before it is released. However, the method has never been used in Sweden.
“There had been speculations on the soft release, and we have looked at the experience in the United States. But the problem with soft release is that it tells the wolf that “here you will stay.” That’s what is the point of the method. And it’s hard nowadays to find completely wolf empty areas in central Sweden that is suitable for this. So it has never been relevant,” says Kristofferson.
Before the female was released, she was fitted with a GPS collar, which makes it possible to track her movements. Since she had previously shown signs of eczema from collars, the new collar is fitted with a so-called drop-off function, which means that it falls off after about a month.
According to the Agency experts the female was healthy when she took off from the release site.