HOMEWARD BOUND

Following relentless persecution, grey wolves are making a comeback in Germany. But not everybody welcomes the return of these predators.

- AXEL GOMILLE

IT'S 2009 AND I'M SITTING IN A HIDE ON A MILITARY training ground in Saxony, close to the Polish border, overlooking a wide, open sandy area. It acts as a firebreak between where I am and the dark forest beyond. The croaking of a raven echoes through the quiet air and a light wind rushes through the leaves.

There are no animals to be seen, yet the sandy ground is pitted with the tracks of roe and red deer, wild boar, foxes - and wolves. It may not be total wilderness, yet I am still in the heart of Germany's wolf country.

I wait for some time, unmoving in the hide, and then suddenly it happens - the moment I've been waiting for. A wolf steps out of the trees and into the open, pausing to catch the scent of other forest-dwellers drifting on the breeze.

It's my first encounter with a wild wolf in Germany and I can hardly believe my eyes. The wolf continues to sniff the air and draws closer and closer. Then it seems the wind carries my scent to him. After a brief moment of orientation, he immediately changes pace and direction, sprinting back into the dense forest. Apparently he is not keen on humans.