Wolf seen 75 metres from where children were playing

Experts confirm the animal seen in October was indeed canis lupus

Mar 23, 2015

A wolf came quite close to a children's club on the outskirts of Randers last October. A member of the staff at Fritidshjemmet Solgården – a former farm where up to 50 children aged 6-18 attend every day – first observed the animal, and DNA analysis has since shown that it was actually a wolf.

“We sent residue [left by the animal] to researchers at Aarhus University and the Natural History Museum, and they have verified that it was actually a wolf,” Lars Maagaard, a nature and wildlife biologist attached to Randers Municipality, told bt.dk.

The Fritidshjemmet Solgården teacher saw the wolf when he stepped outside during a staff meeting at around noon on a Friday last October. The wolf ran off when it saw the teacher, but not before defecating on the grass. Another teacher – who is a hunter – collected the stool and made plaster casts of the animals paw prints.

No danger
Maagaard stressed that the wolf at no time posed a danger to students or teachers

“Wolves are shy and it ran off as soon as it saw the teacher,” he stressed. “Wolves are not dangerous to humans, because they do not view people as prey.”

Maagaard said that the wolf may have been stalking a deer or another prey that it followed close to the institution.

“A wolf near Randers is evidence of a certain diversity in our nature,” he said. “I think it is fantastic. If you are lucky enough to see a wolf, enjoy it, because it rarely happens.”