Czech Republic: Wolves return after a century absence

9 April 2014  

By News from Elsewhere... ...media reports from around the world, found by BBC Monitoring

 

A hidden camera has captured an image of a wolf crossing a wooded clearing in the Czech Republic, a hundred years after the predator disappeared from the area, it's been reported.

There have been some signs near the town of Doksy suggesting a wolf may be in the region, Radio Prague reports. But wolves haven't roamed free in Bohemia since the late 19th Century.

 

The wolf was not aware of the hidden camera

 

Right now, there is probably just one wolf or maybe a pair, says environmental expert Miroslav Kutal. The animal is likely to have strayed into Bohemia from the border regions of Germany and Poland, where the wolf population has been thriving.

But Kutal tells Radio Impuls the conditions in Bohemia - especially in former military zones and in the mountainous border regions - seem to be good for breeding. This is something to be encouraged, he adds, since wolves can regulate the deer population and draw tourists to the area. But the arrival of poachers could become a concern.

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