– Wolves have returned to settle in the Karkonosze Mountains – says Artur Pałucki, a naturalist with Karkonosze National Park. – We have photographs of these animals. They are not migrating wolves, but wolves that have settled here. We are conducting regular monitoring of them.
Andrzej Raj, director of Karkonosze National Park, says that wolves are the next large predators whose return we are observing: – Lynxes returned about 10 years ago; now we are dealing with wolves. They have plenty to eat because there are too many deer in the national park. There should be 25 per thousand hectares, but there can be more than 80. Wolves will eliminate the weakest animals and affect the health of the entire population. Deer will also no longer be able to graze like cows in a pasture. They will have to move around. The presence of wolves is good for the entire ecosystem.
Artur Pałucki emphasizes that wolves are not a threat to people. – An encounter with them is usually accidental. Wolves avoid people; they do not like our smell. Fairy tales about evil wolves eating good children are completely made up – he says. – Wolves are really interested in what they can eat. That means wild boar, deer and, sometimes, something worth mentioning, dogs.
The return of large predators and of birds that disappeared from the Karkonosze Mountains many years ago is, according to Andrzej Raj, the result of a consistently implemented nature conservation strategy. It was developed back in the previous century, 25 years ago, and—with minor adjustments—is still being implemented today.