Erfurt / Bonn (dpa / th) - In Thuringia, a pack of wolves is still on the move in the country. The number has thus remained the same, unlike the increased nationwide total. In addition, a pair of wolves and two individual animals were counted in the observation year 2021/2022, as announced by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the Federal Documentation and Advice Center on Wolf Issues (DBBW) on Monday in Bonn. According to this, the pack around the small town of Ohrdruf in Thuringia, the pair of wolves near Ilfeld and the individual animals in Tiefenort and Zella-Röhn were observed. In the previous observation year there was not yet a couple in the federal state.
Since its return in 1998, the wolf has been spreading throughout Germany. From May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022, the officially confirmed number of wolf packs in Germany increased from 158 to 161 packs. In addition, 43 pairs of wolves and 21 resident solitary wolves were confirmed.
According to the DBBW, the survey is based on more than 30,000 traced leads and evidence as well as camera trap images and genetic evidence such as faecal samples. The number of wolf populations is significantly higher, especially in the neighboring federal states to the north-east. Lower Saxony reports 34, Saxony 31 and Saxony-Anhalt 24 wolf packs.
