LUPUS - Institute for Wolf Monitoring and Research in Germany
A German wildlife research institute focused on monitoring wolves, studying their return to Germany, and supporting coexistence between wolves and people.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
LUPUS - Institute for Wolf Monitoring and Research in Germany is a wildlife biology research organization headquartered in Spreewitz, Saxony. It was established in January 2003 under the name Wildbiologisches Büro LUPUS by biologists Gesa Kluth and Ilka Reinhardt. Its central subject is the natural recolonization of Germany by the wolf, including the distribution, population development, territorial behavior, dispersal, genetics, diet, and interactions of wolves with people and livestock. The institute operates primarily as a scientific and advisory body rather than as a consumer-facing commercial brand. Its work has been commissioned or supported by public conservation authorities and other organizations, including the Saxon State Ministry for the Environment and Agriculture, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bundesforst, the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. LUPUS has organized and led wolf monitoring in Saxony, southern Brandenburg, and Saxony-Anhalt, contributing field data used in conservation planning and public administration. Its research methods include inventory and population assessment, tracking of signs and traces, telemetry, genetic analysis, and examination of wolf diet. Since 2003, wolves in the Lausitz region have been fitted with collar transmitters in order to study territory use, movement, lifestyle, and dispersal. A pilot project beginning in 2006 used GPS/GSM telemetry to examine the migration behavior of young wolves. That work was expanded to Saxony-Anhalt in January 2011. LUPUS has also contributed to the development of national and regional wolf-management practice. On behalf of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, it helped prepare a specialist concept for wolf management in Germany. The institute's publications address conflict management, livestock protection, large-carnivore monitoring, and cooperation across the German-Polish border. These outputs have included technical guidance and monitoring standards intended for government agencies, researchers, land users, and conservation practitioners. A further part of the institute's role is public communication. LUPUS personnel advise farmers and livestock keepers, visit communities, and support professional education about wolves. The goal is to reduce fear, explain wolf behavior, improve protection of livestock, and encourage forms of coexistence consistent with European large-carnivore conservation policy. This public-facing work places the institute in a contested policy environment: the return of wolves has been welcomed by some conservation constituencies but opposed by portions of the farming and hunting communities. Media attention and criticism directed at wolf management have consequently also affected the institute and its staff. LUPUS is best understood as a specialist scientific and conservation-services organization whose institutional identity is tied to evidence-based wolf monitoring, wildlife-management advice, and conflict reduction. Publicly available reference material confirms its establishment, founders, principal research areas, institutional collaborations, and major projects, but does not provide reliable current information about its legal structure, funding totals, staffing beyond the named founders, or a current official website.
History
LUPUS began in January 2003 as Wildbiologisches Büro LUPUS, founded in Spreewitz by wildlife biologists Gesa Kluth and Ilka Reinhardt. Its creation coincided with the need for systematic scientific observation of wolves naturally returning to Germany, particularly in the Lausitz region of Saxony. Rather than treating the wolf's return solely as a conservation symbol or a political controversy, LUPUS developed an applied research program intended to document population development and provide usable information for public authorities and affected communities. The institute's early work combined field observation with structured monitoring of wolf signs, territories, reproduction, and dispersal. Beginning in 2003, collar transmitters were used on wolves in the Lausitz to investigate territory use, movement patterns, lifestyle, and dispersal. In 2006, a pilot project supported by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation introduced GPS/GSM telemetry to study the migration behavior of young wolves. The project was expanded to Saxony-Anhalt in January 2011, broadening the geographic scope of the institute's movement research. LUPUS subsequently became involved in organized wolf monitoring for several German regions. It organized and led monitoring in Saxony, southern Brandenburg, and Saxony-Anhalt, while also undertaking related work such as track and trace surveys, genetic studies, telemetry, population inventory, and food analysis. These methods helped establish a more detailed picture of wolf distribution and behavior and supplied evidence for conservation planning and administrative decisions. The institute's remit extended beyond data collection. On behalf of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, LUPUS helped develop a specialist concept for wolf management in Germany. Its researchers also produced or contributed to technical publications concerning coexistence with wolves, livestock protection, monitoring of large carnivores, and cooperation between Germany and Poland. These publications were aimed at conservation authorities, scientists, livestock owners, land managers, and other practitioners dealing with the return of large carnivores. Public engagement became another important strand of the institute's work. LUPUS provided advice to farmers and sheep breeders, visited members of the public, and participated in professional education. Such activities sought to explain wolf ecology, address concerns about safety and livestock losses, improve practical protection measures, and support what the institute described as peaceful coexistence between humans and wolves. This role also exposed LUPUS to conflict. The wolf's return generated opposition among some livestock farmers and hunters, and criticism of wolf policy was at times directed at the institute and its personnel. By the late 2010s, reference material described Kluth and Reinhardt as continuing to manage the institute. LUPUS had established a distinctive position at the intersection of wildlife science, government conservation policy, livestock-conflict advice, and public communication. The available material does not establish a precise current legal form, staff list, annual budget, commercial revenue, or independently verified present-day operating status beyond the institute's continuing identity in reference sources.
- 2015
Central European wolf-monitoring standards published
[1]Researchers associated with LUPUS contributed to standards for monitoring the Central European wolf population in Germany and Poland.
- 2012
Livestock-protection research published
[1]LUPUS researchers contributed to a study of livestock-protection methods applicable in Germany, a country undergoing wolf recolonization.
- 2011
Telemetry project extended to Saxony-Anhalt
[1]The young-wolf migration research project was expanded to Saxony-Anhalt in January 2011.
- 2007
Guidance on living with wolves published
[1]Ilka Reinhardt and Gesa Kluth published Living with Wolves, guidance addressing management of a conflict-prone species in Germany, as part of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation's script series.
- 2006
GPS/GSM telemetry pilot project
[1]A Federal Agency for Nature Conservation-supported pilot project introduced GPS/GSM telemetry to investigate the migration behavior of young wolves.
- 2003
Institute founded as Wildbiologisches Büro LUPUS
[1]Gesa Kluth and Ilka Reinhardt established the wildlife biology office in January 2003 in Spreewitz, creating the organization that later became known as LUPUS - Institute for Wolf Monitoring and Research in Germany.
- 2003
Collar-transmitter research begins in the Lausitz
[1]LUPUS began using collar transmitters on wolves in the Lausitz to study territory use, movement, lifestyle, and dispersal.
Products and positioning
A specialist, science-led wildlife research and advisory institute focused on Germany's wolf population, combining field monitoring, applied conservation research, management guidance, and public education.
Research service · 2003
Wolf population monitoring
LUPUS conducts and coordinates structured monitoring of wolves, including population inventory, territory assessment, reproduction records, field observations, and the collection of signs and traces. The work has covered Saxony, southern Brandenburg, and Saxony-Anhalt and supports public conservation planning and wolf-management decisions.
Research program · 2003
Telemetry and dispersal research
The institute has used collar transmitters and, from 2006, GPS/GSM telemetry to study wolf territory use, movement, lifestyle, dispersal, and the migration behavior of young animals. The program generated applied knowledge about how wolves establish territories and spread into new areas.
Policy and advisory service
Wolf-management guidance
For public conservation authorities, LUPUS has contributed scientific advice and specialist concepts for managing wolves in Germany. Its guidance addresses monitoring, conflict-prone situations, stakeholder communication, and the practical administration of a naturally recolonizing species.
Conflict-management service
Livestock-protection advice
LUPUS advises agricultural stakeholders, including sheep breeders and other livestock keepers, on methods for reducing risks associated with wolves. This work forms part of a broader effort to address rural concerns and improve the practical conditions for coexistence between livestock production and wolf conservation.
Knowledge product
Technical publications and training
The institute's researchers produce and contribute to reports, guidelines, scientific papers, monitoring standards, and educational materials. Topics include living with wolves, large-carnivore monitoring, livestock protection, wolf management, and transboundary cooperation between Germany and Poland.
Marketing campaigns
- Public education for coexistence with wolves
Germany
LUPUS conducts public education, professional training, community visits, and consultations with affected agricultural stakeholders. The program explains wolf behavior and ecology, addresses public fears, and promotes practical approaches intended to make coexistence between people and wolves more feasible.
Outcome. The work established LUPUS as a visible source of scientific information and conflict-management advice, although wolf policy remains controversial among some farmers, livestock owners, and hunters.
Brand decisions
2011
Expansion of telemetry research to Saxony-AnhaltStrategyBackground
The institute's movement research had initially been developed around wolf populations in the Lausitz and was intended to improve understanding of young-wolf dispersal.
Action taken
LUPUS extended the project to Saxony-Anhalt in January 2011.
Aftermath
The expansion increased the regional scope of research into wolf migration and supported monitoring in another German state.
2006
Adoption of GPS/GSM telemetry for young-wolf dispersal researchStrategyBackground
Conventional field monitoring could document signs and territories but offered limited continuous information about animal movements. A pilot project supported by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation focused on the migration behavior of young wolves.
Action taken
LUPUS expanded its research methods to include GPS/GSM telemetry, enabling more detailed tracking of movement and dispersal.
Aftermath
The project was extended to Saxony-Anhalt in January 2011, broadening the geographical reach of the telemetry work.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/lupus-institute-for-wolf-monitoring-and-research-in-germany · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled