Erfurt (dpa/th) - The offspring of wolves in Thuringia is larger than previously assumed. The Ministry of the Environment announced on Tuesday in Erfurt that four puppies had been sighted in the wolf territory of Ilfeld in the southern Harz Mountains. The ministry had previously assumed "at least two small wolves" based on photo evaluations. In Ilfeld, the parent animals were genetically detected for the first time in 2021. According to the information, their territory extends to Saxony-Anhalt.
Five wolf pups were also seen near Ohrdruf. In total, seven puppies of the strictly protected species were discovered in Thuringia this summer.
Puppies that spend their first few weeks in the den are familiarized with their surroundings at the age of about three months by their parents, but also by pack members. The young remain in the pack until they reach sexual maturity at the age of one to two years.
The wolf has been at home in Thuringia again since 2014. According to information from the ministry, there were seven wolves in densely wooded Thuringia when the puppies were sighted; three of them in the Ohrdruf region. A young male will probably look for his own territory in the near future. Two wolves who are loyal to the location are in the Ilfeld region, one in the Zella-Rhön region and a cross-border commuter between Lower Saxony and Thuringia near Braunlage.
