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PloS one2023; 18(8); e0289767; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289767

Wolf contact in horses at permanent pasture in Germany.

Abstract: Wolves returned to Germany in 2000, leading to fear in German horse owners that their horses could be in danger of wolf attacks or panic-like escapes from pastures when sighting wolves. However, reports from southern European countries indicate that wolf predation on horses diminishes with increasing presence of wildlife. Therefore, we conducted a long-term, filed observation between January 2015 and July 2022 on 13 non breeding riding horses, mares and geldings, kept permanently on two pastures within the range of wildlife and a stable wolf pack with annual offspring. Wildlife cameras at the fences of the pastures made 984 times recordings of wolves and 3151 times recordings of wildlife in and around the pastures. Between 1 January 2022 and 23 March 2022 we observed two stable horse groups. Pasture 1 was grazed by five horses of mixed breed, four mares and one gelding, with the median age of 8 years (min. = 6y, max. = 29y). Pasture 2 was grazed by eight heavy warmbloods and draught horses, three mares and five geldings, with the median age of 16 years (min. = 13y, max. = 22y). During this period no wolf was recorded at pasture 2, but wild boar several times, whereas at pasture 1, wolves were recorded 89 times, and for the wildlife mostly hare. Wolves may have avoided pasture 2 because of the presence of wild boar or because the large group of older, heavy breed horses may have formed a stable, protective group. The latter needs to be confirmed in a follow-up field observation, which records anti-predator behavior and welfare indicators in horses. In conclusion, wolves did not attack the mature horses on pastures with plenty of wildlife and the horses did not respond to the presence of wolves with visible signs of reduced welfare or panic. This indicates that wolves may prefer to prey on easily accessible wildlife around and at horse pastures and that Central European horses become accustom to the presence of non-hunting wolves.
Copyright: © 2023 Krueger et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Publication Date: 2023-08-10 PubMed ID: 37561797PubMed Central: PMC10414631DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289767Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research undertakes a long-term field observation of interactions between horses and wolves in Germany. It suggests that wolves tend not to attack mature horses living in pastures abundant with wildlife, and horses do not appear to show signs of distress or panic in the presence of wolves.

Introduction and Background

  • Wolves returned to Germany in the year 2000, igniting fear among horse owners about the safety of their horses in the likelihood of a wolf attack.
  • The study analyzes the behavior of wolves in relation to horses in the wake of reports from southern Europe, suggesting that wolf predation on horses decreases as the presence of wildlife increases.

Method

  • The study monitored two pasture sites with a combined total of 13 horses, consisting of mares and geldings, from January 2015 to July 2022. The horses were kept permanently within a range frequented by wildlife and a family of wolves.
  • Wildlife cameras were installed along the fences of the pastures, recording wildlife occurrences 3151 times and wolf sightings 984 times.

Findings

  • The researchers focused on two horse groups from January 2022 to March 2022. The first group, comprising five mixed breed horses, grazed pasture 1, while the second group, consisting of eight large-sized warmbloods and draught horses, grazed pasture 2.
  • Wolves were recorded 89 times in the vicinity of pasture 1, while no wolves were recorded near pasture 2. Hares and wild boars were the most frequent wildlife visitors to the pastures.
  • The study proposed that wolves may have evaded pasture 2 due to the presence of wild boar or because the larger group of older heavy breed horses formed a protective group deterrent to wolves.

Conclusion and Future Research

  • The research posits that wolves did not attack mature horses in such pastures, and horses exhibited no signs of reduced welfare or panic at the sight of wolves, contrary to widespread fears among horse owners.
  • The researchers suggest that wolves may prefer preying on accessible wildlife within and around horse pastures, and that Central European horses can become accustomed to the presence of non-hunting wolves.
  • However, the authors also mean that these conclusions need to be substantiated with further field observations that explore the anti-predator behavior and welfare indicators in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Krueger K, Gruentjens T, Hempel E. (2023). Wolf contact in horses at permanent pasture in Germany. PLoS One, 18(8), e0289767. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289767

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 18
Issue: 8
Pages: e0289767
PII: e0289767

Researcher Affiliations

Krueger, Konstanze
  • Department of Equine Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Economics and Management, Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Nürtingen, Germany.
Gruentjens, Theo
  • Association for the Promotion of Research on Horses and Wolves (VFWPW), Former AK Pferd & Wolf Until 2020, Verden, Lower Saxony, Germany.
Hempel, Enno
  • Association for the Promotion of Research on Horses and Wolves (VFWPW), Former AK Pferd & Wolf Until 2020, Verden, Lower Saxony, Germany.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses
  • Male
  • Female
  • Animals, Wild
  • Predatory Behavior
  • Fear
  • Panic
  • Germany
  • Wolves

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Sarenbo S, Doane M. Dog attacks on livestock: insights from Swedish news articles and experiences of farmers and inspectors. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1629966.
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  2. Górecka-Bruzda A, Siemieniuch M, Lansade L, Stanley CR. How Useful Are Existing Protocols in the Quick Assessment of the Welfare of Semi-Feral Horses? Pilot Study on Konik Polski Horses Living in the Forest Sanctuary. Animals (Basel) 2023 Dec 19;14(1).
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