Sweden culls dwindling wolf population

Sweden is holding its first wolf cull since parliament voted to cut the population to just 170 individuals, despite warnings that number is too low for genetic diversity


SCANDINAVIAN WOLF
Family group 
Pair (no pups)

Canis Lupus

200km 125 miles

Believed extinct in 1960s, repopulated by three Russian-Finnish wolves

SWEDEN
1
NORWAY
Oslo
Göteborg
Stockholm
FINLAND 
2


GENETIC DIVERSITY

Narrow genetic pool – DNA from three original wolves plus three new arrivals in 2007 
Inbreeding leads to small litter size, anatomical defects and reproductive disorders


EUROPE’S WOLVES
1 Scandinavian	450 (Sweden ~365)
2 Karelian 	200+
3 Baltic	1,700-2,240
4 Central	780-1,030
European
5 Carpathian 	3,460-3,850 
6 Dinaric-Balkan ~4,000 
7 Alpine 	420-550 
8 Italian 	1,100-2,400 
9 Iberian 2,500

3 4 5 6 7 8 9


Sources: Wild Sweden, Science, LCIE
Picture: Newscom
© GRAPHIC NEWS