Wildlife authorities believe a wolf killed a dog that was found dead on Monday in a residential area bordering on Oslo’s eastern forest called Østmarka.
Oddbjørn Rosendal, who owned the elk hound named Wendy, found her badly mauled cadaver near the high-rise apartment buildings at Lindeberg on Oslo’s east side. He’d gone out looking for his dog around 5:30am, when she hadn’t returned from being let out earlier.
Jan Wilberg of the wildlife agency Statens Naturoppsyn told local newspaper Akers Avis Groruddalen that given the dog’s injuries, he believes the dog was killed by a wolf. It marked the first time he had registered such an attack in Oslo.
“This is unique in the Oslo area,” Wilberg told Akers Avis Groruddalen, but added the “we have experienced this several times” in neighbouring Akershus County.
Rosendal, shaken over the loss of his dog and the signs of a bloody battle in the snow (external link, in Norwegian), said he hadn’t considered any danger of wolves in the area. “A wolf is much stronger than a dog, so I hope this went quickly,” he said.
Wilberg said there was no reason for panic in the area, though. “If the wolf has attacked one dog, it can attack more, but for all we know the wolf is already 100 kilometers away,” he said. He did advise dog owners to keep their animals on a leash, however.
Views and News staff
