Wolf DNA found in samples from goat attack in Tyrol

Wolf DNA was detected in samples from the deaths of six goats near a settlement in Arzl im Pitztal in early September, ORF reported, revising an earlier assessment that a golden jackal was chiefly responsible.

Three of four additional backup samples contained wolf DNA, the Tyrol provincial government said on Wednesday. Earlier tests of four samples had found fox DNA in three and golden jackal DNA in one, results officials had considered plausible.

The expanded testing found DNA from a fox, a golden jackal and a wolf in connection with the same attack on September 6. The samples cannot show which predator arrived first, the government said.

A wolf was shot by a hunter in the area shortly after the goat deaths, without a culling order. Proceedings against the hunter have been discontinued, but an administrative case continues over whether there was an imminent danger, which can also legally justify shooting a wolf in Tyrol. Further genetic testing is needed to determine whether the wolf that was shot was involved in the goat deaths.