Hannes Jaenicke: In Action for the Wolf

“In Action for the Wolf”: In his award-winning documentary series on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, 22.15:20 p.m. on ZDF, conservationist Hannes Jaenicke dedicates himself to the animals that have been native to Germany again for XNUMX years.

The film is available in the ZDF media library the day before. "This time it's not about a species that is dying out, but one that is spreading," says Hannes Jaenicke. And faster than some people would like.

Animal experts estimate that 128 packs, 36 pairs and nine sedentary individuals live in Germany and expect the wolf population to grow by about 30 percent per year.

A great success for species protection and at the same time a problem for farmers who fear more wolf attacks on their grazing animals. To get closer to the predators, Hannes Jaenicke visits the world's only WolfScienceCenter in Lower Austria.

There he found similarities between humans and animals: in personality and in the ability to cooperate. "It's strange that we are so afraid of wolves," says Jaenicke, and suspects negative associations from childhood. "Perhaps this has something to do with the image of the evil wolf in Grimm's fairy tales."

On his journey to the Italian Abruzzi and the Romanian Carpathians, the committed nature lover quickly notices that there is a different mentality towards wolves there: a much greater willingness to coexist.

In Germany, he discusses this with wolf friends and opponents: with Peter Wohlleben, forester and specialist book author, as well as with Torsten Reinwald, deputy managing director of the German Hunting Association.

And he gets very contradictory answers from them. In his latest documentary, Jaenicke tries to bring objectivity to an emotionally charged debate and mediate between the conflicting parties.

© Photo: ZDF / Markus Strobel