Photo Gallery Study Finds Wolves Avoid Sheep, Prefer Deer
A wolf in a wildlife reserve in the German state of Brandenburg near Berlin. Germany had no wolves for over 150 years until 2000, when a couple of wolves migrated from Poland and settled in the Lausitz region of Saxony.
Researchers have found that wolves mainly eat wildlife such as deer and wild boar, and that livestock accounts for less than one percent of ther diet.
A wolf in a wildlife park near Neuruppin in Brandenburg. The findings by a team of researchers from the Senckenberg Society for Natural Research should allay the fears of farmers who have had major misgivings about allowing the predators to return.
A female wolf looking after her cub. The researchers collected more than 3,000 wolf droppings and tested them for undigested matter such as fur, bones, hooves or teeth of the animals they devoured. That allowed them to conclude what they had been eating.
However, the growth of Germany's wolf population has not been entirely without impact on shepherds and farmers. Since 2002, a total of 315 livestock deaths in the eastern state of Saxony have been attributed to wolves. Many of them were just killed and not eaten. The wolves flee when they are disturbed in their feeding by a dog or a human. That is why wolves prefer to dine on wild animals.
