Ten packs of wolves officially live in the canton of Graubünden. In the Lenzerheide area, the latest pack was genetically confirmed.
In Graubünden, the formation of a tenth wolf pack in the Lenzerheide area has been genetically confirmed. This means four new packs will be formed in the Alpine canton in 2022.
As seen from the recently published large carnivore report 2022 by the cantonal office for hunting and fishing, the presence of the pack was noticed last year. Only recently, however, it was clear whether this was a new pack. Only a genetic test at the end of January could confirm this. The wolf family was christened the Lenzer-Horn pack.
Other wolf packs formed in 2022 in the Lugnez, around the Vorab above Laax and in the Prättigau. Two packs live in Misox on the canton border with Ticino and Italy. Since most of them are not in Graubünden, they are not counted as a Graubünden pack.
Packs of wolves killed over 500 livestock.
This means that there are wolf packs in almost all regions of Graubünden. Big exceptions are the Engadin and the southern valleys. In the Davos area, too, no wolf family has yet formed. However, lone wolves have been repeatedly observed in these regions.
The Bündner Wildhut assumes that at least 94 wolves lived in Graubünden at the end of the year. However, the number is merely an “expert estimate”. 68 individuals were genetically identified.
However, there are exact figures for the damage caused by wolves. The large carnivores killed 517 livestock, about twice as many as the previous year. Sheep were by far the most common prey, with 497 animals killed. In addition, 13 goats and four cattle or calves were killed. Wolves killed two suckler cows and a llama for the first time.
The Bündner Wildhut reacted to the increasing number of cracks with a series of kills. She killed two so-called damaging lone wolves and five pups from two packs. In addition, the alpha wolf of the particularly conspicuous Beverin pack was shot.
The rangers also gave a severely injured wolf the coup de grace and shot a hybrid wolf, a hybrid of a wolf and a dog, for reasons of species conservation. Three wolves, all males, died on the A13, where they were run over between Chur and Maienfeld.
