More than any other animal, wolves figure in a large number of tales.
Who has not heard of Grimm’s Fairy Tales? As children we were all told the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the wicked wolf. Hunted without mercy, the wolf was exterminated in Switzerland by the end of the 19th century. The word «luf» (Rom.= wolf) sometimes occurs in local names, reminding us of its former presence in the region.
A few years ago, this highly adaptable pack animal succeeded in crossing from the Apennine peninsula into the French-Italian Alps. Several wolves have already migrated into Switzerland. 2012 saw the first pack of wolves of our Canton settled on the Calanda ridge near Chur; in the following years more packs formed in the Surselva, on the Beverin and other areas. As from 2016, wolves have been observed regularly in the National Park. In September 2023, the new «Fuorn» pack was recorded for the first time.
In September 2024, at the request of the canton of Graubünden and despite opposition from the Swiss National Park, the federal government ordered the culling of the entire «Fuorn» pack because a calf had been killed by wolves on the Laschadura alp near Zernez. In the winter of 2024/25, a total of 15 wolves were shot outside the national park by gamekeepers from the Office for Hunting and Fishing. The culling of the «Fuorn» pack was a major setback for the Swiss National Park because the presence of wolves has an impact on the entire ecosystem.
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Pack of wolves in the Swiss National Park, September 2023 (camera trap)
A wolf chasing chamois (camera trap)
