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Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com
Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com

SE: Wolf prowls through Swedish family’s garden

A man in Köping, in eastern Sweden, was shocked to have his morning coffee interrupted by the sight of a wolf strolling around his garden, straight through his children’s play area.

“I was shocked to see it – I’ve got young children who play out there. It’s lucky they weren’t out there at the time. I’m not happy at all,” Tobias Staflin told The Local.

It was at 8am on Sunday morning when Staflin saw a flash through the kitchen window.

He looked out into the garden and saw a cat that was running for its life. A wolf followed in hot pursuit.

“The cat ran up a tree, and the wolf just kind of waited around for it at the bottom. He lost interest after a while, and just started walking around the garden and sniffing things. That’s when I took the picture,” Staflin said.

This is not the first sighting of the creatures in the area either, according to Staflin. Neighbours have reported seeing a pair of wolves the previous week, a few hundred metres from his house, which Staflin believes could mean there are even more members of the pack.

However, Staflin claims he’s never seen a wolf in the area before, and finds the incident highly unusual.

“I’m worried for my kids,” he said.

“They’ve seen the picture, but they don’t understand. They’re not afraid at all, they think it’s just a dog”.

In terms of the next step, Staflin told The Local that he had spoken with the county council and left the matter in their hands.

Meanwhile, Staflin isn’t taking his chances.

“I don’t know what will end up happening with the wolf, but I won’t be letting the kids play outdoors for a while,” he said.

Wolves are a protected species in Sweden, and their population is estimated at around 250.

After Swedish wolves became extinct in the 1970s, they were reintroduced from Finland; however the low numbers have resulted in widespread inbreeding, and often deformed and weakened wolves.

Oliver Gee

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