More livestock killed by wolves

In the first three months of this year, significantly more livestock were killed by wolves in Saxony than in the same period last year. The damage statistics of the Wolf Unit at the State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG) counted 112 dead animals in the first quarter. In contrast, at the beginning of 2024, only 40 sheep, goats and other animals were killed by wolves.

Of the 49 cases of damage reported so far, 29 are attributed to wolves with "sufficient certainty". These included some cases with a very large number of animals killed. This was not the case in the first quarter of 2024, when 24 wolf attacks were recorded.

Wolf attacks with many animals killed

On January 3, 21 animals fell victim to the wolf in an enclosure for fallow deer in Stolpen in the Ore Mountains. In February, seven dead sheep were reported twice in the district of Bautzen in Königswartha and seven dead sheep in Neschwitz. In January, eight sheep also died in a wolf attack in Elsterheide in the district of Bautzen.

In 2024 as a whole, there were fewer wolf kills in Saxony for the first time again after a years-long increase. There were 227 reported cases of damage with just under 640 animals killed.

Most wolf kills occur later in the year

In our experience, most wolf kills occur in September and October. During this time, the wolf pups are around three months old and have an increased need for food. Of the grazing animals, sheep are by far the most common prey for wolves.

Saxony is one of the most wolf-rich federal states. According to current monitoring, 209 wolf packs live in Germany, most of them in Brandenburg (58), Lower Saxony (48) and Saxony (37). There are also pairs of wolves and individual animals.