Howling wolf banishes Danish blues

THE howling of wolves has been heard in Denmark. The species became extinct there in 1813 but, two centuries later, footprints have been found in Jutland. According to the Timber Wolf Information Network, at least four individuals visited the country recently.

DNA analyses of droppings show two of them came from Germany. Two others were Polish. Young wolves travel huge distances, searching for food and places to live. One of the visitors walked 1,200km to reach Denmark. These vagrant wanderers, it was thought, were unlikely to become permanent residents. The recent nocturnal howls, however, have made zoologists think again.

Holly Root-Gutteridge, a wolf expert from Nottingham University, says the howls don’t come from a single individual but are produced by an entire family. There are a least two adults and pups eight to 10 months old. Wolves, to everyone’s surprise, are breeding again in Denmark. Another milestone in the recovery of Europe’s most persecuted mammal has been reached.

At the beginning of the 18th Century, wolves roamed Europe and Asia, from Ireland to Mongolia. They attacked livestock, frightened our superstitious forebears with their midnight howling and dug up graves to feed on corpses. The ‘mactíre’, outcast ‘son of the countryside’, became a nightmare animal. Then deforestation, and relentless persecution, rendered it virtually extinct everywhere. One killed in Morayshire in 1743 was probably Britain’s last wolf. Its Irish counterpart survived a little longer — our last victim perished on Mount Leinster in 1786. Persecution continued into the 20th Century. In the 1970s, the European wolf reached its lowest ebb.

Then public attitudes changed. Zoologists showed that wolves don’t attack people and that fear of them is unfounded. Television documentaries, featuring devoted wolf mothers with endearing little pups, softened hearts and minds. Terror and loathing of this much maligned creature declined. In a recent poll, to find Dublin Zoo’s most popular animal, the wolf came eighth, behind the orang-utan but ahead of the lion.

Substantial numbers of wolves survived in the Caucasus. A few remained in the mountains of Italy, Greece and the Iberian Peninsula. Russian and Finnish ones visited Sweden and Norway. In Eastern Europe, these resourceful and adaptable creatures began scavenging for food in town dumps. They even became a tourist attraction. Under the cloak of darkness, some travelled northwards from the Italian mountains to settle quietly in German and French parks. There are now about 25,000 wolves on this side of the Russian border. In time, they may re-colonise forested areas in every European country with, however, two notable exceptions — Ireland and Britain. Wolves can’t cross the sea.

Should we give them a helping hand? Not everybody welcomes the great predator’s return. Reindeer herders and farmers, despite generous compensation for livestock allegedly taken, want wolves exterminated. Animals venturing south in Sweden are often shot on sight. Ten captive-bred animals, introduced into the Bavarian National Park some years ago, had to be killed due to local disquiet. Twelve carcasses, not 10, were collected ; unknown to the authorities, wild wolves had been living in the park.

But there’s a positive side to re-colonisation; wolves play a major role in the eco-system. Their absence is especially evident in Scotland, where deer numbers have expanded so much the habitat on which the deer depend is being destroyed. Given the threat to livestock, particularly sheep, they can’t be released to roam the countryside.

Landowner Paul Lister has come up with an interesting proposal. He wants to introduce Scandinavian wolves to a 21,000ha reserve in Allendale, Scotland. Fences would confine the animals, removing the threat to livestock. With deer numbers controlled by the wolves, he argues, the reserve’s flora and fauna would be greatly enhanced. The unique landscape, lost when wolves were exterminated centuries ago, should return. Entry charges, levied at the gate, would help finance the facility, providing a valuable scientific and tourist resource.