According to the most recent estimate given by the State Institute for Nature Protection in September 2006, Croatia is inhabited by 180-240 wolf individuals, i.e. 210 wolf individuals divided into slightly more than 40 packs. The estimate is based on local experts' reports, taking into consideration data about wolf-caused damage to livestock, mortality data, telemetric research results and the GIS model of probability of the wolf occurrence in certain areas of Croatia. According to the data collected the wolf population in Croatia is considered stable at present.

In 1990 there were only 50 wolf individuals in Croatia, but in 2000 the experts of the School of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb estimated their number at 130-170.

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Fig. 1: Distribution of wolf presence signs found and their spread in Croatia in 2001

By monitoring the mortality of wolves in the entire area of Croatia in the period from 1986 to 2004 the death of 115 wolves was recorded. In 84 per cent of cases the major cause of mortality is man, of which shooting accounts for 54 per cent, road kills for 28 per cent and other human causes are only sporadic. The mortality was due to natural causes in 9 per cent of the cases, of which 7 per cent relates to diseases and 2 per cent of deaths were caused by other wolves. It should be noted that this does not necessarily reflect the actual state, because mortality caused by humans is easily detected and documented, as opposed to natural mortality that remains undiscovered in most of the cases. The actual insight might only be gained if a substantial portion of the wolf population were collared and telemetrically monitored.

The slight decline in the number of dead wolves reported at that time resulted more from the public awareness of the wolf protection and high fines imposed for killing them, which consequently led to the absence of illegal kill reports, than from the drop in the total number of wolves. Owing to the Protocol for the Collecting of  Protected Species Killed (Wolf, Lynx) prepared within the context of the LIFE project, over the past few years cases of wolf kill have been reported more frequently and promptly.The knowledge of wolves and understanding of their life and death are only some of the preconditions which, when fulfilled, make it possible to manage the population, with the aim to preserve it as one of the pieces making a mosaic of biological diversity of Croatia .

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