Citizens do not always know whom they should inform of sightings of wolves or their prints.
These police guidelines clarify when observations should be reported to the police or other authorities.
Call the emergency number 112 if:
• A wolf has injured a human.
• A wolf is observed in close vicinity of human habitation, and it will not leave or keeps circling around.
• A wolf tries to approach a human, does not evade humans or behaves otherwise fearlessly.
• A wolf is injured or ill.
• A wolf has been involved in a traffic accident.
• A wolf is seen in a closely built environment or in a residential area in daytime.
• A wolf has caused significant damage to domestic or production animals.
Inform other authorities of:
• A night-time visit by a wolf close to human habitation (paw prints found).
Report the sighting to the local carnivore contact person. These contact persons handle field examinations and record the observations in the TASSU system for observations of large carnivores. The contact details for the carnivore contact persons are available on the riista.fi website.
• Individual damage caused by a wolf to domestic or production animals.
Your first point of contact is the local rural business authority and the carnivore contact person. Only inform the police (by calling the emergency number 112) if you cannot reach the rural business authority or if the property damage is significant.
While this list does not cover all possible situations, it includes the most common ones. The same instructions apply to all other large carnivores, such as bears, lynxes and wolverines.
For information about the police’s role in matters involving wolves, please visit https://www.poliisi.fi/public_order_and_security/large_carnivores
