Ulven i Danmark – hvad ved vi egentlig om den?

The wolf is probably the animal that most Danes have an opinion about. And although it evokes both fear and anger, people will need to get used to the fact that it is once again a permanent part of Denmark’s wildlife.

This is the assessment of Peter Sunde, Professor at the Department of Ecoscience and Faunal Ecology at Aarhus University, who has been studying wolves ever since the species migrated to Denmark in 2012.

So what should we actually know about the Danish wolf, according to the professor?

“Right now we have nine wolf pairs in Denmark, at least seven of which have had pups this year. So far, we have counted 44 individuals, though there may be more. This is the highest number since the wolf’s return,” says Peter Sunde.

In 2024, 38 pups from six litters were recorded, while in the two preceding years, the total was 14.

The number of territories – that is, areas with at least one resident, territory-marking wolf – has remained stable since 2022, when there were ten in total.

“This is surprising and unusual, as one would expect an increase in line with the number of young wolves. But that hasn’t happened yet, and we don’t have a solid biological explanation for it,” says Peter Sunde.

He expects that more territories will emerge in the coming years, as many new wolves are currently roaming Denmark due to the number of pups from 2024 and immigration from Germany.

The Jutland Heath Is a Haven for Wolves

Wolves are often found in areas with forests and heathlands, where there is peace and a healthy population of red deer, fallow deer, or wild boar.

At present, wolf pairs are located in Stråsø Plantage, Klosterheden, Blåvand, Nørlund, and Borris Shooting Range. Several pairs have also settled within enclosed nature reserves such as Tofte Skov and Klelund Dyrehave, where human impact is limited.

“This provides a unique insight into the wolf’s niche in the ecosystem, where they can live undisturbed compared with other areas in the country,” says Peter Sunde.

The wolf is a top predator. Its presence clearly alters both the behaviour and the population structure of prey species in these enclosed areas. Wolves regulate deer populations, provide carcasses to the ecosystem, and create other dynamics within the food chain.

“For example, golden eagles benefit from deer carcasses, which likely originate from wolf kills. Especially in winter, when food is scarce, wolf leftovers can be crucial for many scavengers,” explains Peter Sunde.

Nevertheless, the ecological role of the wolf in Denmark remains limited to a few areas where it has space and peace. Outside these enclosed nature areas, it is still humans – through hunting, agriculture, and forestry – who dominate ecological processes.

Bringing Food Home in Their Stomach

Lone, territory-holding wolves patrol a relatively large area of around 200–1,000 km². But when they find a mate and form a pair, their territory typically shrinks to about 150–300 km², especially during the breeding season.

Once a wolf pair settles in an area, they tend to stay. Therefore, if they disappear from their “home,” it usually means that at least one of the pair has died. The surviving mate will normally maintain the territory until a new mate arrives.

“We don’t have GPS on any of them, like they do in many other countries, so we don’t really know what the wolves die of — we can only speculate,” says Peter Sunde.

Wolves usually live in family packs, consisting of a breeding pair and their pups. They breed with near-perfect precision in the first week of May and raise their pups throughout the summer. The pups often stay for about a year before leaving as lone wolves to search for a new territory and a mate.

“The pups born in May roam around on their own in small groups over the summer and spend their time as pups do. They are much less shy than adult wolves and are therefore often observed by forest visitors,” explains the professor.

While the young remain at home, the parents hunt separately at night and bring food back in their stomachs. When the pups lick the parents’ muzzles, it triggers a reflex that causes the parents to regurgitate the food as a warm “venison stew” for the pups.

A wolf and its hunting of red deer can be either a blessing or a nuisance, depending on whom you ask.

“Large populations of deer are a problem for crop farmers, which is why campaigns were launched to encourage hunters to shoot more calves. The challenge, however, is shooting enough calves,” explains Peter Sunde.

In this way, the wolf can be both the hunter’s and the farmer’s best friend, as it targets the calves. Conversely, if you are a meat hunter or a deer hunter, the wolf may be seen as a competitor.

“The Wolf Is Coming!”

Fear of the wolf is historically and culturally ingrained, but biologically, the risk of an attack on humans is extremely low — and I mean extremely.

“Wolves have an aversion to humans. They are nervous around us. This is probably shaped by centuries of natural selection. Wolves that were not afraid of humans fared poorly in evolutionary terms,” he explains.

Wolves exhibiting normal behaviour avoid humans, and there are no known cases of attacks in Denmark. Across Europe, documented attacks are rare and almost always involve problem wolves that have become habituated to humans — for example, through feeding or frequent contact over a long period.

The problem only arises if wolf pups are imprinted on humans at an early age and lose their natural wariness. This can lead them to approach humans as adults — as seen in the Netherlands, where two wolves now show abnormally low fear of people.

“But such cases can be prevented through proper public behaviour and effective management by authorities,” says Peter Sunde, adding that one should never approach or follow a wolf:

“Wolf pups, like dog pups, are less shy and less cautious. At the same time, they are open to new experiences, which creates a critical imprinting window where they can become accustomed to humans — and then risk never being afraid of people for the rest of their lives.”

Fear a Bee, Not a Wolf

Although several media outlets have reported wolf attacks in the Netherlands and suggested that pups are moving towards towns, Peter Sunde believes there is no reason to be alarmed.

There is no logical reason to worry about wolves in Danish nature, he asserts. The risk of being attacked by a wolf is so low that it cannot be calculated statistically.

“There are simply too few examples over the years for it to be computed. We can calculate the risk of being stung by a bee, or drowning on the way home from a night out in Aarhus. But not wolf attacks — they happen so rarely,” says Peter Sunde.

That is not to say that wolves are harmless. By comparison, red deer, for instance, are responsible for more human fatalities than wolves. The situation is very different, however, if you are a sheep. Wolves readily prey on livestock if given the opportunity. This is normal behaviour — just as a fox will take free-ranging chickens.

In Denmark, attacks on livestock have almost always occurred when the animals were not adequately protected, for example behind wolf-proof fencing.

“We can approach this in three ways: remove the wolf, as was done historically before they were protected; remove the sheep; or protect the sheep. This is a challenge worldwide in areas where both livestock and wolves coexist.”

How nature and livestock management are structured varies across the world. Ultimately, it is a matter for the authorities, but there is no reason to fear wolf attacks on humans or a sudden surge in the number of wolves in Denmark, according to Peter Sunde.