Wolf offspring in the Swiss National Park

Last year, a wolf pack was documented for the first time in the Swiss National Park (SNP).

The pair F98 and M312 had 8 pups in 2023, 6 females and 2 males. After the pack followed the deer into the Engadine valley during the winter and was observed near settlements particularly in spring, there was keen interest in whether the parent animals would return to their summer territory in the Ofenpass area in spring.

During early summer, SNP staff found numerous carcasses of ungulates that had been entirely consumed. This again indicated the presence of a wolf pack. Last week, a park ranger succeeded in directly observing 2 young wolves in the Il Fuorn area. A nearby camera trap provided definitive confirmation: the Il Fuorn wolf pair has again produced at least 3 pups in 2024. Whether there are even more young wolves will be revealed in the coming weeks by the photo and video traps that have been installed since early summer. A further goal is to determine the sex of the animals through genetic analysis.

In most cases, the parent animals do not allow young wolves from the previous year's litter to come too close when the new pups are born. In the Fuorn pack, a female pup from last year's litter is an exception. This animal has been observed on several occasions in the Il Fuorn area.

It is also noteworthy that the wolves are again this year staying in relative proximity to the Ofenpass road and hiking trails, yet it remains very difficult to observe them. Furthermore, not a single livestock animal was killed by the Fuorn pack this year. The undisturbed conditions away from the hiking trails, as well as the large number of prey animals such as red deer and chamois, appear to suit the pack in the SNP. For park visitors who are exclusively on the hiking trails during the day and adhere to the protection regulations in the national park, there is absolutely no danger from wolves.

Dossier: Wolf in Switzerland: Facts, Politics and the Limits of Hunting