Hybrid wolves are multiplying in Europe and it is worrying

He looks exactly like a wolf… except for one detail, he has a lighter coat. The wolf hybrid, renamed “Blonde”, was first spotted in 2020 in the Susa Valley, located in Piedmont, Italy.

However, the discovery has since worried some specialists who fear the animal’s overpopulation, the British newspaper The Guardian reports this Thursday, March 28. In the transalpine region bordering France, the fawn hybrid had actually already given birth to at least two litters of pups before it disappeared.

“A few packs of hybrids”

“We now have several packs of hybrids from a single animal”, explains Luca Anselmo, wolf tracker and researcher of Life WolfAlps EU, a program aimed at defending the return of wolves to Europe and reducing their conflicts with humans. According to some experts, the breeding of hybrids risks “pollution” of the genetic stock at the expense of the European wolf, a genetically different wild species.

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Today, a growing number of studies highlight the presence of these hybrid species in almost all European countries where wolves hide. In some regions, their number is even constantly increasing. This increase is mainly due to the increasing destruction of wolf habitats and the development of human activities.

A species more resistant to diseases

However, the opinions of experts differ on the methods to be adopted in order to regulate the numbers of this species. Some experts are in favor of a radical method: slaughter – the Austrian, Swiss and Slovenian authorities in particular have opted for this option – while others are firmly against it. In Poland, researchers are conducting studies on the potential benefits of hybridization. For example, in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States of America, hybrid wolves were found to be more resistant to certain diseases.