# Grey wolf numbers in Europe rise 58% in a decade after strict protection

> Grey wolves, once practically gone from Western and Central Europe, have rebounded to around 21,500 animals, and a researcher says living alongside farmers is less divisive than it seems.

- Published: 2026-11-04 by Tickety-Boo News
- Section: Animals
- Location: Europe
- Web page: https://ticketyboonews.co.uk/stories/grey-wolf-numbers-in-europe-rise-58-in-a-decade-after-strict/
- Original report: [Human-wildlife coexistence with wolves in Europe requires a holistic approach](https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/11/human-wildlife-coexistence-with-wolves-in-europe-requires-a-holistic-approach) (Mongabay)

## In brief

- Grey wolf numbers in Europe rose a reported 58% between 2012 and 2022, to around 21,500.
- Strict protection measures drove the recovery after wolves were practically extinct in Western and Central Europe.
- A researcher says protecting livestock currently reduces damage far more effectively than lethal control.

Grey wolves are back in Western and Central Europe in force. Their numbers climbed by a reported 58% between 2012 and 2022, to around 21,500 animals, after strict protection measures took hold across the region.

That is no mean feat for a species that was practically extinct in these parts during the 19th and 20th centuries. Human pressure had effectively wiped wolves out in many areas, and only protection laws and agreements turned the tide.

Germany offers a clear example. Wolves had vanished there for more than a hundred years, but protection agreements from the late 1970s and 1980s paved the way for their return. Animals moved in from neighbouring countries, and the first successful breeding in Germany came in 2000. Wolves have now been part of the German landscape for around 25 years.

The recovery has not been even. Some countries have long experience of living with wolves, while others are only just beginning to see them. Wolves do sometimes prey on livestock, which can cost farmers money, and that keeps coexistence firmly on the agenda.

Social scientist Emu-Felicitas Ostermann-Miyashita, of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, has studied the issue in Germany. She says European media tend to portray people as either loving or loathing wolves, whereas her studies point to a far greyer picture of public attitudes.

She argues for a holistic approach, with the public moving from thinking of "wolves vs. livestock" to "livestock with wolves". In practice, she says, that means a mix of incentives for wolf presence, protection for livestock, and more study of measures such as lethal control. There is not yet enough evidence to say whether lethal control works, she says, but current data suggest protection is much more effective at reducing damage.

The European Union has voted to loosen the wolf's protected status. WWF has warned that this could jeopardise a fragile recovery. Ostermann-Miyashita partly agrees, noting that recovery differs from country to country, and she believes the decision rested more on social pressure than on ecological evidence.

## Why it matters

The return of a large predator to landscapes that lost it is rather good news, and it shows that legal protection can reverse a long decline. Whether the recovery lasts, though, depends on farmers and wolves sharing the countryside. Gathering evidence on what works in different places, and sharing it between countries, could help protect both livelihoods and wildlife.