Wolf spotted in the Jeseníky mountains TY @ProudVegan

Czech News

Published: 04 February 2016

Written by Raymond Johnston

A phototrap caught a few seconds of a wolf in north Moravia 

A wolf was videotaped in the Jeseníky mountains in north Moravia at the beginning of the year and its footprints were found as well. It is the first evidence of wolves in the area in a decade, according to conservation group Hnutí Duha.

“The information of the recording of the wolf come to us within a few hours of its passing the phototrap. Of course, we took advantage and managed to measure the stride length and the size of the actual track. All recorded parameters correspond to a wolf and underlined the credibility of the short video, “said Petr Šaj, a zoologist with the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic.

There had been some evidence of predators in the Jeseníky area since winter began, and some 60 phototraps were set up in different locations.

The monitoring, conducted with the help of dozens of volunteers, will continue to April.
The new video came from a local volunteer.

"I knew about the monitoring of large carnivores in the Jeseníky area from the media. As I watched the footage on the computer the animal seemed to resemble a wolf; I immediately sent the recording to experts to identify it,” said Filip Seitl whose phototrap pictured the wolf.

Conservationists are pleased with the sighting.

“Demonstrating the presence of a wolf in Jeseníky is good news for our foresters. So far there are only sporadic sightings that may indicate a lone migratory wolf, but if the wolves managed to colonize the territory permanently, it would be very good for the entire ecosystem. As demonstrated by scientific evidence, large carnivores have a positive effect on the balance of the natural environment. Deer in the woods change their behavior, improve their health and fitness, and reduce damage to forests,” said Tomáš Pospíšil from the Šumperk regional office of forestry firm Lesy České republiky.

Wolves were common in the Jeseník area in up through the 19^th century, but fell victim to hunters. The last one was killed in 1908, and then wolves began to return after World War II. One was shot in 2005 near the village of Břidličná.

This new sighting is one of several recent ones of large carnivores returning to the Czech landscape.


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