New wolf pack confirmed in Grisons

Observers had provided well-founded evidence of the wolf pair with the young wolves, the Grisons Office for Hunting and Fisheries announced on Wednesday. According to the office, the wolves are staying in the Heinzenberg-Safien-Beverin region.

Hannes Jenny, deputy head of the Office for Hunting and Fisheries, said the wolf pair in central Grisons had migrated from Italy. The pair had been in the region for about a year and a half.

In Grisons, one wolf pack has so far been confirmed at the Calanda in the Chur Rhine Valley and one at the Ringelspitz in the border area of the cantons of St. Gallen, Glarus and Grisons. At the Calanda, young wolves have been born seven times already. At the Ringelspitz, there was offspring for the first time last year.

«It could well be that a pack forms here permanently.»

Hannes Jenny, Grisons wildlife biologist

Young wolves can usually be confirmed between mid-July and the end of August. According to Jenny, there are currently around two dozen wolves in Grisons in total.

Fifth pack in Switzerland

The newly discovered wolf pack in central Grisons is the fifth known one in Switzerland overall, as was learned upon enquiry at the Swiss predator research centre Kora.

Besides the three packs on Grisons soil, there is one in Ticino. There the wolves live in the Morobbia valley, a side valley off the Magadino plain. Another wolf pack has chosen a territory in central Valais.