Lone Wolf Spotted Swimming in the Sea Off Greece

A lone wolf was spotted by surprised fishermen swimming in the Aegean Sea off Magnesia, located in Central Greece.

The men on the fishing boat were caught by surprise to see the wolf at such a great distance from the shores.

Wolves have swimming skills much like dogs. They can swim up to eight miles and are comfortable even in icy water.

They usually swim to traverse water obstacles or pursue prey, as almost twenty-five percent of their diet comes from water.

The wolf in Greece

The wolf in Greece occupies a great variety of habitats from degraded, hilly areas to densely forested mountains, says Callisto, an environmental organization for wildlife and nature in Greece. Greater numbers are found in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas with low human populations.

Up until the 1930s, the species distribution extended to the whole of the country’s mainland. The wolf was exterminated from the region of the Peloponnese, however, prior to the 1940s and from the Prefectures of Voiotia and southern Fokida, located in Central Greece, in the 1960s.

The re-establishment of wolf numbers began in the 1980s due to the abandonment of the bounty system and the use of poisoned baits.

A recent incident in which a wolf approached a man and his daughter and attacked their dog on Mt. Parnitha just outside of Athens shocked many Greeks all across the country.

Most residents of the Greek capital certainly had no idea whatsoever that wolves roamed the mountainous slopes located so close to the metropolis.

Callisto announced after the incident that at least twenty-five wolves live in the area spanning from Central Greece to the mountainous outskirts of Athens, but the actual number may be higher.