New wolf packs confirmed in Switzerland

A wildlife warden has determined, based on camera trap evidence, that seven wolf pups accompanied by a mother and a male are currently roaming the Valais Chablais. The wolf pack is present in the area of the municipalities of Vionnaz and Vouvry, as reported by the Valais State Chancellery.

The cantonal office for hunting, fisheries, and wildlife had reinforced its monitoring arrangements and increased the number of camera traps following the permanent wolf presence recorded in this region since January 2019. In addition, two audio recorders were installed to detect any possible reproduction.

At the end of winter, the female wolf F43 and the male wolf M88 had been detected in the area on several occasions. The two are presumed to have sired the wolf offspring, though this cannot be confirmed with certainty, as wildlife biologist Yvon Crettenand, employed by the canton of Valais, stated.

Another male wolf (M89), detected in March in the valley floor of Vouvry, has since moved into the canton of Vaud. The seven young animals in the Chablais currently represent the only formal evidence of wolf population reproduction in Valais this year.

Graubünden

In Graubünden, wildlife wardens spotted three young wolves in the area of the municipality of Obersaxen Mundaun.

These are likely to be the young of a previously unknown wolf pack, as reported by the Graubünden Office for Hunting and Fisheries.

Together with the three young animals, two adult animals were observed. The home range of this new wolf pack is likely to encompass the area from Piz Mundaun to Piz Nadels and the surrounding valleys.

The canton of Graubünden is thus home to 4 packs, with at least 26 wolves currently.

Vaud

The birth of at least three wolf pups was confirmed this summer in the Vaud Jura thanks to a video trap. The canton of Vaud thus has a wolf pack for the first time in 150 years.

This is the eighth wolf pack documented in Switzerland, as the canton of Vaud and the KORA Foundation for Predator Ecology and Wildlife Management announced. According to the information provided, the canton of Graubünden is home to four wolf packs, Valais to two, and Ticino to one.

With the latest offspring in the Marchairuz region of the Vaudois Jura, the number of wolves in the canton of Vaud has risen to a total of seven since the beginning of 2019.