Military training areas facilitate the recolonization of wolves in Germany

• Published in: Conservation Letters
• Main Authors: Ilka Reinhardt, Gesa Kluth, Carsten Nowak, Claudia A. Szentiks, Oliver Krone, Hermann Ansorge, Thomas Mueller
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2019
• Subjects: Canis lupus; large carnivores; population growth; protected areas; recolonization; General. Including nature conservation; geographical distribution; QH1-199.5; Stepping Stones
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12635; https://doaj.org/article/27bcd5caa7a44ad3892b5f80609ff5ac

Abstract Wolves (Canis lupus) are currently showing a remarkable comeback in the highly fragmented cultural landscapes of Germany. We here show that wolf numbers increased exponentially between 2000 and 2015 with an annual increase of about 36%. We demonstrate that the first territories in each newly colonized region were established over long distances from the nearest known reproducing pack on active military training areas (MTAs). We show that MTAs, rather than protected areas, served as stepping‐stones for the recolonization of Germany facilitating subsequent spreading of wolf territories in the surrounding landscape. We did not find any significant difference between MTAs and protected areas with regard to habitat. One possible reason for the importance of MTAs may be their lower anthropogenic mortality rates compared to protected and other areas. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case where MTAs facilitate the recolonization of an endangered species across large areas.