Wolf prints?

[alansykes]

For the last couple of days in the Sierra Norte de Guadalajara, on the Ruta de la Lana, I've occasionally come across huge canine footprints, about 4 times bigger than my Hungarian boarhound's. The lady in the information centre of the Parque Natural del Barranco del Río Dulce was sceptical at first, but when I showed her this pic said she thought it probably was made by a wolf.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

This web page describes the difference between coyote, dog and wolf tracks. A quick description is that multiple dog prints usually look more randomly placed than wolf tracks.

https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/wolf/identify.html

 

[nycwalking]

For the last couple of days in the Sierra Norte de Guadalajara, on the Ruta de la Lana, I've occasionally come across huge canine footprints, about 4 times bigger than my Hungarian boarhound's. The lady in the information centre of the Parque Natural del Barranco del Río Dulce was sceptical at first, but when I showed her this pic said she thought it probably was made by a wolf.View attachment 47935

Wolves on Camino, I hope not.

Keep safe.

Buen camino.

 

[domigee]

Wolves on Camino, I hope not.

Keep safe.

Buen camino.

We did see wolves print paws (we thought) on the Sanabres and later, one of us did take pics of a wolf...

 

[MileHighPair]

Picture on the Sanabres about three weeks ago. My boot is USA 11.5 Wide. It really is amazing how big the prints are.

 

[nycwalking]

We did see wolves print paws (we thought) on the Sanabres and later, one of us did take pics of a wolf...

Oh my!

I always walk alone.

Something to consider if I walk VdlP.

 

[twh]

It's definitely possible, the northwestern population of wolves in Spain is estimated at 2,000 in 350 groups. see map below for the distribution. Based on the picture of the paw prints I would guess the pic from the OP is a dog print due to the close spacing of the toe pads to each other and to the heel pad (and the lack of distinct lobes on the heel pad). I saw several LARGE dogs in Galicia (Mastiff and Mountain Dog types) that were taller and heavier than the size range given for the Iberian wolves in this area so I'm sure there are lots of large paw prints in the mud of Galicia that don't belong to wolves but it's interesting to speculate on the possibility that we were walking on the same paths the wolves occasionally used.

 

[P Rat]

Don't want to meet them but think this is kinda cool....nature prevails.

 

[Rick M]

Oh my!

I always walk alone.

Something to consider if I walk VdlP.

Sounds scary, I know. Between Hollywood and fairy tales, the big bad wolf has a fearsome reputation. Unless you are secretly a herd of goats though, you have nothing to be concerned about. I grew up in a remote wooded area where wolves were very common. I saw tracks all the time, but an actual wolf less than a dozen times in a decade, and always from a wary distance. They want nothing to do with the giant upright brightly colored primates. As my father explained, we are the scary monsters in the forest. Now, grizzly bears are a different story........

 

[Deleted member 39850]

Seems like very large dogs... the wolf print is typically much closer spaced from the digital pads to the "palm" area. If you look at the paw-print guide, you can see clearly that there is more space in the dog prints. Also, it can be hard to tell sometimes, but all the wolf prints i've ever seen have a very clear inward pointing direction of the foreclaws on the forepaws.
NO debt about it though: that's a *big* canine.

 

[VNwalking]

Seriously cool possibility, Alan.
May it be so...and if they are there, I hope you manage to catch a glimpse of these beautiful and shy beings. Even though they are not dangerous, it's still quite a pulse-quickening experience to meet a wolf.

 

[Robo]

It's definitely possible, the northwestern population of wolves in Spain is estimated at 2,000 in 350 groups. see map below for the distribution. Based on the picture of the paw prints I would guess the pic from the OP is a dog print due to the close spacing of the toe pads to each other and to the heel pad (and the lack of distinct lobes on the heel pad). I saw several LARGE dogs in Galicia (Mastiff and Mountain Dog types) that were taller and heavier than the size range given for the Iberian wolves in this area so I'm sure there are lots of large paw prints in the mud of Galicia that don't belong to wolves but it's interesting to speculate on the possibility that we were walking on the same paths the wolves occasionally used.View attachment 47942View attachment 47943View attachment 47943

We 'met' a Spanish Mastif coming out of Hospital de Orbigo.
It's a BIG dog

 

[ranthr]

In the the Norwegian pilgrimmagasin, Pilegrimen, a Norwegian woman wrote about her pilgrimage from south to north along the Spanish/ Portuguese border. She met a group of wolves. She also met a group of wild dogs that seemed to be more scaring.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Don't want to meet them but think this is kinda cool....nature prevails.

That is nice to think, but wolves in Spain are systematically slaughtered by hunters and the government.

https://wilderness-society.org/how-spain-brutally-reduces-its-wolf-population/

 

[t2andreo]

I would not be concerned. If this was a wolf, there is plenty of live prey along the Camino routes. Wolves are timid by nature and will avoid human contact, UNLESS there is no other food source.

The other complicating factor would be illness, such as rabies in the wolf population. But, the odds are so infinitesimal as to be nil. Hence, I advise that we not get spun up over this.

Another reason why my 'accidental' three-part lifetime rabies vaccination in 2006 was a good thing...

 

[Davie Blisters]

Look out for this fella on the San Salvador a couple of days out of Leon.
I thought he was tracking me and feeling brave, decided to get a closer look - then realised he was made of metal. Possibly, Ender and his mates decided to erect it after a night on the vino!

 

[Oravasaari]

Look out for this fella on the San Salvador a couple of days out of Leon.
I thought he was tracking me and feeling brave, decided to get a closer look - then realised he was made of metal. Possibly, Ender and his mates decided to erect it after a night on the vino!

Yes, I remember seeing that on my spring 2017 Cf-SS-Primitivo, it's just after La Robla as you begin to get into the mountains. You have to give it double-take before you realise it's a statue!

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I would not be concerned. If this was a wolf, there is plenty of live prey along the Camino routes. Wolves are timid by nature and will avoid human contact, UNLESS there is no other food source.

The other complicating factor would be illness, such as rabies in the wolf population. But, the odds are so infinitesimal as to be nil. Hence, I advise that we not get spun up over this.

Another reason why my 'accidental' three-part lifetime rabies vaccination in 2006 was a good thing...

Also you don't want to be bitten by a half crazed Perigrino that's foaming at the mouth!

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Sounds scary, I know. Between Hollywood and fairy tales, the big bad wolf has a fearsome reputation. Unless you are secretly a herd of goats though, you have nothing to be concerned about. I grew up in a remote wooded area where wolves were very common. I saw tracks all the time, but an actual wolf less than a dozen times in a decade, and always from a wary distance. They want nothing to do with the giant upright brightly colored primates. As my father explained, we are the scary monsters in the forest. Now, grizzly bears are a different story........

Reminds me of a story from Canada:
A greenhorn tourist arrives at a backwoods equipment store and proceeds to buy like crazy.
Seeing he's onto a good thing the salesman asks if he wants to buy some bear bells.

"Bear bells? Never heard of them."

The salesman shows him some little brass bells - the round ones with a little loop on them.

"What are they for?" the greenhorn asked.

"Well you sew a few around each of your trouser cuffs and when you walk along they jingle. The bears here this and keep away from you."

"There are BEARS in these woods?"

"Oh sure, we got black bear, brown bear, even some grizzlies!"

"How can you tell which ones are around?"

"Oh, that's easy. Just look at the bear scat - the droppings. Around here black bear scat contains a lot of berries and nut fragments as well as fish bones and the like whereas your brown bear scat has more bits of bone and fur."

"And grizzlies? What about grizzlies?"

"Oh, their scat generally tends to have little brass bells in it."

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

"Oh, their scat generally tends to have little brass bells in it."

That's why I backpack with Peg. She's slower than me.

I read the previous post to Peg and then mine. She laughed. That shows another reason why I backpack with Peg.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Still in Canada. We were camping on a little island on a lake in Northwestern Ontario, sitting around the campfire chewing the fat (actually we were eating the fish we'd caught earlier) when wolves on the mainland started to howl.

You hear them in the movies and think "mmm!", you hear them in a pitch black night in the Canadian wilderness and a chill runs up your spine. But we sat there, smug in the thought that we were safe on our little island and passed the bottle around.

A few months later I was chatting to a Park Ranger from the Isle Royale National Park, south of the border in Lake Superior. She laughed when I said that we felt safer, being on an island and said "You DO know wolves can swim?" - NOW I do!

She also said she had been working with wild wolves for nearly 15 years and had never heard of an authenticated report of a wolf attack.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

That's why I backpack with Peg. She's slower than me.

I read the previous post to Peg and then mine. She laughed. That shows another reason why I backpack with Peg.

Peg sounds nice, say Hi to her for me

 

[Pelegrin]

That is nice to think, but wolves in Spain are systematically slaughtered by hunters and the government.

https://wilderness-society.org/how-spain-brutally-reduces-its-wolf-population/

Yes maybe But the wolf is progressing south. Now we have 10 wolves in Madrid province.
In the case of Guadalajara province (OP), wolves are strictly protected (comunidad de Castilla la Mancha)

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Yes maybe But the wolf is progressing south. Now we have 10 wolves in Madrid province.
In the case of Guadalajara province (OP), wolves are strictly protected (comunidad de Castilla la Mancha)

And can travel enormous distances - 70km in one night? Apparently 12,000 wolves across mainland Europe - but no attacks on humans!

 

[Marcus-UK]

For the last couple of days in the Sierra Norte de Guadalajara, on the Ruta de la Lana, I've occasionally come across huge canine footprints, about 4 times bigger than my Hungarian boarhound's. The lady in the information centre of the Parque Natural del Barranco del Río Dulce was sceptical at first, but when I showed her this pic said she thought it probably was made by a wolf.

I have been in forested areas of Scandinavia where wolves are present but rarely seen. Wolves seem to avoid humans and go after easier targets like sheep and goats.
Usually the most dangerous animal in the forested areas of Northern Spain are the wild boar (Sangler/Singularis Porcus). When a sow with piglets is startled she drives her piglets before her and follows up in the rear looking for danger ahead. If she sees a human, she will charge and a 100KG animal with, tusks, teeth and trotters can spoil your day. While not being attacked I have seen a large family of wild boars cross a forest track at speed. The most dangerous bit was the Spanish beaters/hunters who followed later. Remember those Hi-Viz rain jackets and back packs during hunting season:-?