As of: February 13, 2024, 7:30 a.m
By: Charlotte Borst
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A farmer is worried: Not far from the Valley districts of Grub and Kreuzstrasse, a predator has killed three of his sheep.
There is some evidence to suggest that a wolf attacked here.
Großhelferdorf/Valley
– How seriously should you take the suspected wolf case in the Ayinger district of Großhelferdorf?
In the night from Thursday to Friday, two sheep belonging to the Riesenberger farming family were killed (we reported).
Michael Riesenberger found her dead in the pasture on Friday morning.
“Both were killed by throat bites,” says the 38-year-old.
There are many indications that a wolf or a hybrid wolf attacked a total of five sheep.
Along with the farmer, the municipality of Aying and the Munich district office are waiting for the results of the genetic samples taken from the carcasses.
State Office for the Environment examines evidence of wolves from all over Bavaria
“The involvement of a large wild predator cannot be ruled out,” said a spokesman for the Bavarian State Office for Environmental Protection (LfU).
On Saturday, the Riesenbergers brought three carcasses to the LfU in Oberschleißheim.
In addition to the two dead sheep, a mountain sheep was also so badly injured that it was rescued after consultation with the veterinarian.
Two other sheep escaped with bite wounds to their throats.
An official from the LfU confirmed the throat bites, reports the farmer: “We were told that up to five carcasses are delivered per week, from sheep or goats.” At the LfU, wolf tears and evidence of wolves from all over Bavaria are reported and checked.
Survived the attack: Patricia Hermann, daughter-in-law of farmer Michael Riesenberger, and her son Andreas pet a sheep that survived an attack by a predator near Großhelferdorf.
© Claus Schunk
All animals were attacked by throat bites - untypical for a dog
On Saturday, the LfU sent a member of the “Large Predators” network to Großhelferdorf to secure samples for further investigations.
The expert and a hunter documented paw traces, reports Riesenberger: “The paw print on the pasture was ten centimeters long and nine centimeters wide.” It is typical that the traces ran “in a dead straight line”.
This points to a wolfdog or a wolf: “The fact that all animals were only attacked by throat bites does not speak for a dog.” After the attack, the animal began to eat the cunning mountain sheep.
“It wanted to get to the internal organs of its prey, a dog doesn’t do that.”
Farmer convinced: walkers in the region need to be more careful
The Riesenbergers' farm is located on Rosenheimer Straße at the outskirts of Großhelferdorf, just before the district border and not far from the Valley districts of Grub and Kreuzstraße.
Do walkers in this region now have to be more careful?
“Yes,” says Michael Riesenberger, especially in the evening.
The farmer knows that part of the population wants to protect the wolf, “but then you should be fair and say that it is now also in the Munich district.”
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Farmer expects another attack on his herd
In addition to 20 sheep, Riesenberger also keeps cows and calves.
“Whatever I can lock up, I have locked in the stable.” A flock of 13 ewes is still on the pasture.
“Here we run the risk of it happening again.
But if I catch the pregnant sheep and lock them up, that's too much stress, which then shows up during lambing." The pasture is on the edge of the forest, fenced in by a 1.80 meter knotted mesh.
Nevertheless, the Riesenbergers expect the predator to come back: “He can jump from a tree at the edge of the forest to the shelter in the pasture.” There’s nothing he can do about that.
Evaluation as to whether it is a wolf is still ongoing
The LfU has now sent the samples to the Senckenberg Institute in Gelnhausen.
“The average evaluation time is around ten working days,” says an LfU spokesman.
Since 2010, all genetic studies on wolves and lynxes have been carried out nationwide in the Senckenberg laboratory.
When asked whether walkers and animal owners should be afraid, the LfU spokesman replied: “The wolf is naturally cautious and avoids people.” In individual cases, young animals in particular could be inexperienced and curious when it comes to people.
“However, this does not pose a threat to humans. Since wolves were once again present in Germany, there have been no attacks on humans by wolves.”
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