Losses

According to the Swiss wolf concept, every dead wolf (natural mortalities, legal and illegal killings) is to be sent immediately and intact to the Centre for Fish and Wildlife Health (FIWI) at the University of Bern for diagnosis. Additionally, KORA will receive all data for the monitoring of the populations. The number of losses in the carnivore populations and their causes are important indices for the status of the population

Most of the registered dead wolves in Switzerland died due to human causes. However, it must be kept in mind, that it is less likely to find a wolf which died from natural causes.

The most frequent known cause of death for wolves in Switzerland is the legally permitted shooting based on the Konzept Wolf Schweiz. This prescribes that, for individuals or packs which have killed a certain number of farm animals within a defined timeframe or have been a considerable threat to humans, a shooting permit can be issued. Since wolves cannot be individually identified in the wild, the shooting perimeter is closely coupled to the damage perimeter to shoot the actual damage causing wolf. Further important causes of wolf losses in Switzerland are traffic collisions and illegal killings.

Further information can also be found in the FIWI’s annual reports.