Wolves
5 places to see and hear wolves in the wild, in 5 countries from France to Spain: when each one peaks, where to go on your own, what it costs and what you will hear. Wild animals only, no zoos.
Best time, place by place
| Spectacle | Country | Peak | On your own? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercantour summer: marmots, ibex and wolf country | France | 20 Jun – 31 Aug | You can go on your own |
| Wolf howling and Ural owls, Kočevski Rog nights | Slovenia | 15 Aug – 15 Oct and 1 Feb – 31 Mar | You can go on your own |
| Brown bears and wolves, Gorski kotar and Velebit | Croatia | 15 May – 15 Jul and 15 Aug – 15 Oct | Guide, ranger or boat needed |
| Wolf howling | Italy | 1 Aug – 30 Sep and 15 Jan – 15 Feb | Guide, ranger or boat needed |
| Iberian wolf howling, Sierra de la Culebra | Spain | 1 Aug – 30 Sep and 15 Jan – 28 Feb | You can go on your own |
Where to go, north to south
Mercantour summer: marmots, ibex and wolf countryMarmot alarm whistles across high cirques, ibex hooves on rock, alpine choughs and lammergeier wingbeats; wolf howls are possible but rare and never guaranteed.
Wolf howling and Ural owls, Kočevski Rog nightsPack howls with high pup yips from rendezvous sites, carrying several km across karst dolines; Ural owl's deep barking 'wuh-wuh-wuho' and female's hoarse calls; Tengmalm's owl in late winter; red deer in the same windows from mid September.
Brown bears and wolves, Gorski kotar and VelebitBear footfalls, huffs and jaw-popping close to a hide; wolf packs howling across karst dolines in late summer; dormice and Ural owls at night; the Lika plateau is one of the quietest places in southern Europe.
Wolf howlingChorus howls from family packs, including pups' high wavering howls, answering from across a valley.
Iberian wolf howling, Sierra de la CulebraPack choruses with pups' yips across the heather-and-pine sierra, roe deer barks, and the deep quiet of one of the emptiest corners of Spain.