A Reader sent us a photo of the remains of another dog that fell victim to wolves. This time, the incident occurred in Ocice (Bolesławiec municipality).
Let us recall. A similar incident occurred on the night of 26–27 May in Brzeźnik (a village located next to Mierzwin). The dog's owner called veterinarian Piotr Klasa from the “Animals Doctor” clinic to the scene. Mr Klasa initially did not believe the caller. But after examining the remains, he changed his mind.
As the veterinarian emphasized in an interview with istotne.pl, such cases are generally very rare. (Last year, wolves killed 20 sheep in Gromadka.) According to the veterinarian, this is a very strange situation, because there are plenty of roe deer nearby. And they are wolves' main source of food.
Earlier, another Reader also informed us that on 29 May, in the early morning, there was another wolf attack on a dog in Mierzwin:
A lone wolf entered the property through an open gate and attacked the dog [...]. The wolf was alone and, according to the dog's owner, was ill, because it fought with the small dog for about two minutes, then grabbed it and left the property.
As we have established, several such cases have occurred in Mierzwin recently. (The Bolesławiec District Veterinary Inspectorate was notified of the matter).
Why do wolves attack dogs?
Dr Sabina Nowak wrote on the website of Stowarzyszenia dla Natury „Wilk”:
Dogs are domesticated wolves. The two species can interbreed, which proves that despite the lengthy process of domestication, they differ little genetically. Wolves probably believe that dogs are still wolves. They have no idea that a dog has an owner who feeds and keeps it, and often also feels great affection for it. They treat dogs as competitors for territory and food. If dogs are allowed to run loose, they regularly visit nearby forests and leave faeces and urine there, especially on wolf faeces and markings. They also eat scraps from wolves' kills. We often see this in recordings from our camera traps. For a local wolf family group, this clearly means marking their territory and attempting to take it over by an outsider, as well as posing a threat to their offspring. It is somewhat like a stranger entering our home, scattering their belongings there, eating food from the refrigerator and settling in while we are away, then disappearing.
A wolf breeding pair protecting its offspring and food resources can follow a scent trail very easily to the property where such a dog lives. It can also easily recognize the dog when encountering it in the field. That is why cases of local wolves killing dogs in forests, fields, and even on properties or beside kennels are not uncommon.
A wolf killing a dog is not an act of blind aggression, but rather the protection of its own resources. For this reason, wolves do not pose a threat to people, because humans are not competitors in a wolf's environment.
Cases of dogs showing aggression toward other dogs, as well as attacks by dogs on farm animals, are often observed. Unfortunately, in such situations wolves are most often blamed for the death of a dog or the killing of livestock. It is not true that only homeless or stray dogs are a threat, because such incidents may be caused by animals that have owners. There may be such intense antagonism between dogs living next door to one another that they kill each other. Genetic tests of saliva collected from the wounds of injured or dead dogs also indicate this.
Moreover, in the natural environment, and now even near buildings, dogs can be killed by wild boar, including sows defending their offspring. When they or their young are threatened, they can bite a dog severely or even kill it.
I do not believe that wolves killing dogs pose a threat to people, so there is probably no need to raise the alarm and cause panic in areas where such incidents occur. However, all dog owners should know that Polish law prohibits letting dogs run loose in forests. Dogs, even beloved lapdogs, can be very efficient killers of forest animals, roe deer, and even red deer calves. Scientific research proves this. It should also be remembered that by letting a dog run loose in a forest, we expose it to danger from the wild animals living there.
What should we do if a wolf has killed our dog?
As we read on the website of Gmina Bolesławiec:
[…] The State Treasury is liable for damage caused by animals protected by species protection, including wolves.
- The Regional Director for Environmental Protection in Wrocław must be notified immediately of the damage, and will inspect and assess it, determine the amount of compensation, and arrange for its payment.
- The injured party must prove that the damage was caused by wolves. In addition, several rules should be followed:
- the killed animal should not be removed before the people conducting the inspection arrive
- all traces of the incident should be secured
- where possible, photographic documentation should be made of the killed animal and other traces within the incident area (tracks, drag marks, faeces), as well as of the scene itself and the security measures used, such as fencing.
The damage should also be reported to a veterinarian, who may determine the cause of death of the affected animal, prepare a description of the remains, and record other valuable information facilitating the proper consideration of the compensation claim, as well as to representatives of hunting clubs and the forest district, who may search the scene for predator tracks or other characteristic signs of their presence and inspect the remains.- Compensation is not available if the damage caused by wolves occurred between sunset and sunrise while the animals were without direct supervision. Disputes concerning the amount of compensation for damage caused, among other things, by wolves are decided by ordinary courts
- The injured party should submit a compensation claim together with the necessary attachments listed in the claim. Compensation covers the market price of the killed animal, the costs of disposing of the carcass and transporting it to the nearest carcass-disposal company, the cost of a veterinarian's visit to certify the animal's death, and treatment costs, based on the submitted invoices.