The Moianès wolf and its presence outside Catalonia
According to the person in charge of the monitoring plan, genetic data of the Moianès specimen have been found in other territories outside the country, confirming its presence outside Catalonia. This rules out the possibility that the specimen recently observed in Osona is the same wolf.
Rural agent Gabriel Lampreave, coordinator of the wolf monitoring plan in Catalonia, has affirmed that the specimen that moves through the north of Osona is not the Moianès wolf, since it has been established that the latter has left the ‘area and is outside Catalonia, according to the genetic data found.
Mobility of the wolf and its adaptability in Catalonia
Wolves are animals with a great dispersal capacity and can make long journeys in search of food. Unlike the wolf, the wolf can live in many spaces present in Catalonia, adapting to various areas such as crops, agroforestry areas, forests and open spaces populated with trees.
The presence of the wolf in Moianès was initially noted in 2009 and 2010, but it disappeared in 2011. After a long absence, its presence was recorded in 2021, confirmed by the capture of an image. This arrival was not an induced reintroduction, but a natural arrival originating in wolves that moved from Italy to the French Alps and, subsequently, towards the Moianès.
The presence of the wolf in Osona and its implications
The presence of a specimen in Osona raises the possibility of a new individual in Catalonia, since other individuals are more or less established with regular data. However, it cannot be definitively confirmed, since, despite having evidence and images of this wolf, we do not have its genetics.
The coordinator of the monitoring plan admits that wanting to detect a wolf in places where it is extinct is like “chasing ghosts”. Finding a genetic sample is very complicated, and the presence of a wolf in areas where it is no longer vulnerable may indicate that it has already moved away from that area.
