Lorraine Williamson
The Iberian wolf in Catalonia is no longer a rumour carried on the winter wind. Officials have confirmed three wolf pups, alongside two adults, in northern Girona — the first proven breeding in the region in more than a century.
For conservationists, it is a landmark for biodiversity. For livestock farmers, it is a warning bell. And for politicians, it arrives right as Europe rewrites the rules around wolves.
A historic litter, under close watch
The Generalitat says the family group — two adults and three pups — was detected across a wide area spanning Alta Garrotxa and Alt Empordà. The rural ranger corps, Agents Rurals, has intensified monitoring, surveillance and protection to understand behaviour and reduce risks of conflict.
This single breeding event also triggers a legal shift. Under the rules cited by the Catalan authorities, wolves move from “extinct as a breeding species” to an endangered, threatened species — and that obliges the drafting and approval of a recovery plan.
Not a reintroduction, but a natural return
Catalonia is not releasing wolves into the mountains. The government describes this as a natural recolonisation, with earlier arrivals crossing from France; it notes the first wolf detected again in Catalonia was of Italian lineage and appeared around 25 years ago.
The recent pair had been followed for some time. Officials outline a timeline that begins with confirmation of a wolf in January 2024, genetic identification of a female in May, and later detection of a male in the same zone — before images confirmed the adults together and, later, the pups.
Why the landscape can feed a top predator again
Catalan officials argue the ecology has been transformed since wolves vanished. A century ago, wild ungulates were scarce; today, populations have multiplied and are abundant prey for large predators.
WWF España makes a similar point, highlighting the expansion of forests and the growth of prey such as deer, roe deer and wild boar in recent decades. In that framing, the wolf’s return is not an accident — it is a sign of how rural land use and wildlife numbers have shifted.
Iberian wolf loses legal status
Europe loosens protections — but doesn’t remove them
The timing is awkward. In June 2025, the EU formally amended the Habitats Directive, changing the wolf’s status from “strictly protected” to “protected”, aligning EU law with an updated position under the Bern Convention. The Council said the shift gives member states more flexibility to manage wolf populations, while still requiring a “favourable conservation status” — and it explicitly notes countries can keep stricter national protections if they choose.
The EU also points to the scale of the debate: its own background briefing references an estimated wolf population of about 20,300 across Europe and at least 65,500 livestock deaths annually.
Spain’s political row over wolves is already back
In Spain, the argument is not theoretical. In March 2025, parliament voted to remove wolves’ protected status in the rural north, reversing the 2021 extension of full protection north of the Douro and opening the door to controlled hunting there once the law was published.
That national fight matters for Catalonia because it shapes the mood music. When protections are seen as negotiable, rural communities often assume lethal control is the “realistic” answer. Conservation groups, meanwhile, argue that premature hunting undermines fragile recoveries.
Farmers’ fears — and what actually reduces attacks
Livestock farmers have the most to lose in the short term. A wolf does not need many successful raids to reshape how a shepherd sleeps, how a flock moves, and whether a small operation remains viable.
But prevention tends to beat punishment. WWF argues that combined measures — guard dogs, electric fencing and human presence with herds — can dramatically reduce attacks, while also calling for fair, fast compensation when losses happen.
Catalonia’s coexistence toolbox
Catalonia is already building policy around coexistence. The Generalitat says it is specialising more rural agents, intensifying direct work with livestock holdings, and coordinating actions through the Taula del Llop (Wolf Roundtable) alongside multiple departments.
It also lists practical supports: loans of prevention materials such as electric fencing, promotion of livestock-guarding dogs, and financial support for farmers who invest in self-protection. The government says compensation rules have been updated, including the concept of lost profit.
On the environmental side, the Catalan administration has hosted exchanges focused on real-world tools — guard dogs, preventative handling techniques and GPS — drawing on experience from other wolf territories in Spain.
Why these wolves matter beyond Catalonia
There is another layer: genetics. WWF argues that contact with wolves crossing the Pyrenees from wider Europe could help revitalise genetic diversity, describing Iberian wolf diversity as among the lowest in Europe due to persecution and isolation.
In other words, Girona is not just a local story. It is a test of whether Spain can reconnect fragmented wildlife populations — without turning rural livelihoods into collateral damage.
A fragile milestone, and a hard decade ahead
The pups in northern Girona do not “solve” the wolf’s future in Spain. They do, however, force a choice: manage coexistence seriously now, or repeat the old cycle of fear, backlash and disappearance.
Catalonia’s next steps — the recovery plan, the resourcing of prevention, and the credibility of compensation — will decide whether this is a one-off headline or the start of a lasting return.
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