WOLVES

In olden times wolves were common across the whole of northern Europe. They were hunted in forests, baited with dogs, and even used by kings as instruments of punishment (hence the expression "throw him to the wolves"). However, as more and more forest was cleared and used for crops or grazing, wolves became a pest, and were increasingly exterminated. There are still packs of wild wolves in Sweden, Norway and Finland, but a wolf has not been registered in the wild in Denmark since 1813. It was shot, of course.

Until today. A couple of weeks ago, a large carnivore was found dead in a national park up in North Jutland; it had apparently starved to death. It had been sighted on a couple of occasions before then, but not clearly enough for zoologists to be sure that it was a wolf. However, once dead, the carcass could be subject to a formal autopsy, and this has now confirmed that it was indeed a wolf. A sore on its body had turned cancerous, and eventually grown so large that it killed the animal.

The wolf had almost certainly come from Germany, where there are also wild wolf packs, and managed to find its way over the border and then up through Jutland. The wolf population down there is growing, so it is unlikely that Danes will have to wait until 2213 before they sight the next one. I am wondering whether I should invest in bigger mole traps.

Walter Blotscher