File photo. [InTime News]
Authorities in the western Athens suburb of Haidari have warned residents to be alert and not leave food outside bins after a young grey wolf was filmed trotting along a street at night.
Haidari Mayor Michalis Selekos said Friday that the animal had come down from the nearby hill of Poikilo, where forestry officials had confirmed its presence, and had probably strayed into an inhabited part of Haidari in search of food.
“The same happens with wild boars and foxes,” he told state ERT television. “We’ve never had a wolf before on the hill.”
Authorities are now hoping to trap the animal and release it into the wild in some other part of the country where wolves live.
Sightings of wolves and wild boar have become increasingly common in some of the mountains circling Athens – but not Poikilo – amid increasing destruction of the natural environment that’s put pressure on large fauna. Foxes have also been regularly spotted deep inside the capital.
The Haidari municipality has already issued an announcement advising residents to avoid leaving food outside rubbish bins, and not feed strays within 200 meters of forested areas.
“And if we see a wolf, we should not under any circumstances approach it, panic or start running away,” Selekos said.