The wolf found in Karlovy Vary has extensive injuries and remains in a clinic in Prague
The Drosera rescue station in Bublav, which takes care of the wolf, is already preparing an enclosure for him, the head of the station, Vladimír Tomáš Smolík, said today.
The downed animal was found by mushroom pickers in a road ditch between the villages of Horní Blatná and Potůčky in Karlovy Vary. He lay there for perhaps several hours, unable to stand on his hind legs. Therefore, representatives from the Bublava rescue station, which is in charge of the area, came to help him. Experts from the Pilsen Zoo also assessed whether it was really a wolf.
Initially, the vets assumed that it was just a swelling pressing on the spinal cord. Further examination revealed that the wolf needed surgery on the left hind leg. The wounded animal was therefore taken to a clinic in Prague. But the injury turned out to be even more serious.
“He was found to have serious injuries all over his body so it will take a long time. They’re supposed to call us in a week, so we’ll see what happens next. There will definitely be an operation, but that will be the last thing that awaits him. First, I have to get him in shape and fatten him up so that he can withstand all this,” said Smolík. According to estimates, caring for a wolf can last up to several months.
Returning to the wild is no longer an option. “He’s a young wolf who probably can’t even hunt. If he was in a pack, they wouldn’t accept him and kill him. And after such a long time, he will be so used to people that he wouldn’t stand a chance in the wild,” said the manager. When the animal recovers, it will return to the bubble station. “We will definitely take care of him, we will prepare an enclosure for him,” he added.
People can donate to his treatment. According to Smolík, the costs will be high, estimated at tens of thousands of crowns.
Naturalists have been monitoring the wolf in the Ore Mountains for several years. The first occurrence in the territory of the Ore Mountains was confirmed by camera traps in 2017, and the Ore Mountains thus became only the second territory with a confirmed occurrence of this beast in the Czech Republic. Currently, there are about two packs and probably one pair of wolves in this area.