Wolf Following Dog Walkers Tests Germany’s Response

Wolf GW2672m, known as the Hornisgrinde wolf, remains under surveillance in Germany’s northern Black Forest following repeated approaches to walkers, particularly those accompanied by dogs. Reporting published by Le Chasseur Français has been partially corroborated by sources in Baden-Württemberg, although no new decision authorising the wolf’s killing has yet been issued.

According to information published on 7 August by public broadcaster SWR, the animal continues to approach and occasionally follow visitors with dogs, even after the breeding season. The Black Forest National Park is preparing further deterrence attempts to make the wolf keep its distance from people again. To date, the public information reviewed does not attribute any attack to the wolf.

Behaviour documented since 2024

The official timeline does not support a precise claim that the wolf has behaved this way for three years. The Forest Research Institute of Baden-Württemberg, which is responsible for monitoring the animal, dates the first cluster of observations in its territory to January 2024. Reports have been regularly analysed since then.

In January 2026, the institution said that some approaches had been considered critical, but not dangerous. Its assessment was that the male tolerated human proximity while seeking contact with dogs, which it may recognise as fellow canids. Seasonal fluctuations were linked at the time to the mating season, but observations reported this summer mean it must now be determined whether that pattern has changed.

The German protocol applied in this case does not automatically turn a specific distance into a culling order. Baden-Württemberg’s management plan provides for repeated approaches within 30 metres to be documented and analysed, an attempt to fit the animal with a tracking device, and the use of deterrent techniques. Removal is considered a subsequent measure when alternatives fail and the risk assessment justifies it.

A previous permit has already expired

The case has a significant precedent. Regional authorities had tried to capture and tag the animal since 2024 using traps and a tranquilliser rifle, without success. An exemption allowing it to be killed was subsequently granted, and its implementation received provisional approval from the Higher Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg.

However, the permit expired on 10 March 2026 and was not extended. The Baden-Württemberg state government said at the time that the decision reflected a decline in sightings after the mating season ended, and ordered monitoring to be intensified and new deterrent techniques to be developed.

The current situation is therefore an ongoing management process, not a newly approved culling order. According to SWR, if deterrence attempts fail and encounters increase again, the authorities will have to reassess the case when the next breeding season begins. Any new lethal measure would require a separate administrative decision based on changes in the animal’s behaviour, the outcome of the alternatives and the corresponding legal assessment.