The wolf was found in a serious condition in late September by mushroom pickers near Horní Blatná, having probably been run over by a car. The rescue team from the Drosera Bublava Rescue Station took care of the animal. Bubla underwent several surgeries and luckily he survived.
Bubla’s fate was observed by a large number of Czech people, and 2.5 million crowns were raised for his treatment. “Initially, we didn’t believe that a badly injured wolf could recover to the point where he could return to the wild,” described in the past National Rescue Station Network coordinator Petr Stýblo of the Czech Union of Nature Defenders.
Lose 15 kg?
In the end, however, the intensive treatment paid off, and the wolf was released back into the wild at the end of January. However, last week, rescue station workers came to say the animal was not doing well in the wild and was in need.
“We especially wanted to monitor the wolf, see how he was doing. We have photos from hunters and foresters where he looks really bad. According to them, he has lost fifteen kilos.” Vladimír Tomáš Smolík from the rescue station explained for Blesk last week. He added that workers from Mendel University in Brno were in charge of monitoring the wolves, and they said Bubla was doing well with the pack. Which, according to Smolík, contradicts the information they got from the hunters. Smolík was also angry that the university would not provide them with the necessary information.
I’m well!
But in the end, the two sides seemed to have come to an agreement and the situation was not as serious as it first seemed. Drosera Bublava reports on their website that they will now receive regular information from the telemetry collar.
“According to the data, Bubla is moving, not in the same place, meaning he is not weakened. And most importantly, he eats, ” station staff stated that they could verify the data on the ground and agreed. The station also added that it was unclear whether the wolf could actively hunt for food. However, he can find it.
“What’s important is that we now have the information and we will have it. In this way, we can more easily verify reports from the public and prevent unnecessary speculation, conjecture and inaccuracies.” wrote the rescuers.
Experts from Mendel University commented on the event. They say that wolves now especially need rest to acclimatize in the wild. They also confirmed that the data is available to animal rescuers under certain conditions.
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