Purely biologically, the conditions for wolves to establish themselves in southern Sweden are good. But what makes an establishment difficult is that the wolf must not inflict too much damage.

- We have a lot of domestic animals and it tends to attack them quite quickly. And then protection hunting can be introduced. The spread of the wolf is slow, and we can introduce protection hunting fairly quickly, says Martin Broberg, nature conservation officer at the County Administrative Board in Halland.

Wolf bitch sighted

It has now been reported that a wolf bitch has been sighted in Jönköping County, where a wolf male has also been seen. Something that is unusual is that a wolf bitch leaves the immediate area where it was born. And this bitch probably comes from central Sweden.

- And that is one of the reasons why we have had such a weak spread of wolves in the country. The spread has been slow and it has to do with the females and how they move.

"Not had in modern times"

As soon as a bitch settles in an area, the male wolves have a phenomenal ability to find the bitch, says Broberg. And then a new territory can be established. If the female accepts the male, they form a pair, and then there is a possibility that it will result in a wolf litter in southern Sweden next spring.

- We have not had that in modern times. In Västra Götaland there has been a wolf establishment, but in the south there has been nothing. Today, the wolf's southernmost distribution area is in Östergötland.

The wolf can be foreign

SVT has previously reported on the wolf that has been seen in several places around Halland. Right now, however, that wolf seems to be abroad. However, it is unclear whether it is the wolf that was targeted in Gnosjö and in Gislaved municipality, and which was responsible for a large number of attacks on livestock.

Most recently on Wednesday, SVT Nyheter Jönköping reported on a wolf attack that took place a few days ago in Sävsjö, where four lambs are said to have been killed.