The reporting
In the late afternoon of Wednesday 24 September 2025, the park rangers of the Management Body of the protected areas of the Cottian Alps, in constant contact with the Director, responded to a report from a farmer in the Chisone Valley, at a mountain pasture in Pian dell'Alpe (municipality of Usseaux), claiming he had been injured by a wolf while attempting to avoid predation on one of his sheep. After reaching the man at the mountain pasture where he had taken shelter, the officers advised him to go to the hospital for medical checks, especially since he appeared visibly shaken. They then proceeded to inspect the scene of the incident, identifying the location of the attack based on the description provided by the shepherd. They observed a wolf moving away in the area and subsequently found the sheep on which the attack had occurred, assisted by a livestock guard dog. The attack had left both animals with apparently minor injuries, so much so that both the dog and the sheep returned to the flock on their own. The following day, the officers returned to the farmer's home, where he had returned to work, to check on his health and to collect his firsthand account of the incident, which was duly recorded. The man later filed a complaint with the Carabinieri Forestry Corps.
The reconstruction of the facts
The farmer explained that he had been alerted that his sheep were moving erratically and had gone to the flock, noticing that one of them was along the stream where they usually drink, being chased by two wolves, despite the Maremma Sheepdog's attempts to defend it. Instinctively, to scare the wolves and save the sheep, the farmer quickly descended to the streambed, getting so close to the wolves that one of them, perhaps surprised by his arrival, reacted by biting him on the leg, causing a superficial wound. The wolves subsequently moved away, frightening and shocking the farmer, who was later rescued by a family member.
The elements to be clarified
The field surveys conducted by park rangers were essential to reconstructing the incident. Thanks to the testimonies collected and supported by photographic documentation, it is possible to advance some initial hypotheses regarding the wolves' behavior: presumably, it was not a direct attack on the human, but rather an instinctive reaction. According to the shepherd, the predation attempt on the sheep was initially thwarted by the Maremma Sheepdog and then by the shepherd himself, who approached very close to the two wolves. In this context, it is likely that one of the two predators, caught off guard by the shepherd's arrival during an extremely tense moment when he was simultaneously engaged in combat with the Maremma Sheepdog, bit the shepherd before abandoning the attack on the sheep. Some aspects of the wolves' behavior and the dynamics of the attack remain unclear, and the relevant authorities will conduct a careful evaluation.
The Park Authority's commitment
"In accordance with the provisions of the updated regulatory framework for the wolf species and under the responsibility of the Management," states Luca Marello, Director of the Cottian Alps Protected Areas Management Agency, "following the incident, the surveillance service has been strengthened, increasing its presence in the area to monitor the situation and determine whether wolves will return to Pian dell'Alpe and what their behavior will be. These necessary and necessary investigations will allow us to better understand the predators' behavior and assess whether there are any dangerous situations in an area heavily frequented by humans for tourism and work. If suspicious and repeated behaviors of wolves toward humans are detected—a possibility currently unconfirmed given the limited data available—the Agency will initiate discussions with ISPRA (the Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) to identify appropriate solutions. At the same time, information exchange is already underway with the Piedmont Region's Regional Reference Center for Large Carnivores, the Metropolitan City of Turin, and local authorities to gather all available information, useful for better understanding what happened. The Park Authority urges visitors to Pian dell'Alpe and the mountains in general not to create unnecessary alarm in the face of an isolated event, but also not to underestimate the incident, remembering that approaching any wild animal always requires great caution and maintaining an appropriate distance. At the same time, the staff of the Cottian Alps Parks reiterates their commitment to ongoing support for farmers and all those who live and work in the mountains, or visit them for recreation, in order to achieve the goal of a healthy coexistence between human activities and wolves, however challenging and constantly evolving.
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