20. September 2022| Wolf protection, Poland

April pups from the Chmielnik forest district

Foresters from the Chmielnik forestry district gave us a photo of small, still-blind pups, asking us to confirm whether they could be wolf offspring. After careful analysis of the photo, we confirmed that they were wolf pups. 

The photo was taken on April 28, 2022 by forestry workers. Work had been carried out at the site for several days, and it was only on the last day, in a net-fenced clump of larch trees, that the workers came across 5 blind (about 10 days old) wolf pups lying in a small hollow near a stump. A short distance from them lay another, unfortunately dead pup. The pups were left where they were found. A few days later, one of the local foresters decided to check if the puppies were still there, but it turned out that they were gone.

The Chmielnik Forest District consists of fragmented forest complexes located among farmland. The complex where the wolf pups were found is only about 5 square kilometers. In the spring, the Forest Guard of the Chmielnik Forest District recorded 2 adult wolves in the complex about 10 km away. We suppose that they may have been the parents of the pups. There are plenty of red deer and roe deer in the surrounding forests and the area seems well suited to wolves. There is also no shortage of inaccessible to humans, quiet places where wolves can feel safe.

Unfortunately, it has not been possible to confirm whether wolf pups survived, but Paweł Gola, one of our contributors, noted numerous wolf tracks, droppings and scratching in this forest complex in September, indicating that wolves are still here.

Author: Tomasz Bracik