How wolves re-invaded the Benelux, after a century long absence
The wolf, long ago this species was a common sight in the Benelux. It is a native species that took care of the balance in the food chain. But the wolf didn’t last. Wolf hunting in the Benelux and surrounding regions, meant the end for the species in Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg.
1897: The last official observation of a wolf in the Benelux, in the town of Heeze, The Netherlands. Nobody knew this would be the last wolf seen in the Benelux for the coming 100 years. The wolf population was already descending in the past decades.
1982: At the convention of Bern, a majority of European countries agreed to protect the wolf, together with some other endangered species. From then on, the wolf started to make his way back to the Benelux from East-Europe and South-France.
2011: The first report of a wolf in Belgium and the Benelux since their disappearance. A camera trap captured a wolf in the High Fens, the highest and most forested part of the Benelux. Sadly this individual was a loner, no other wolves where seen in Belgium in the coming 5 years.
7 March 2015: Officially the first wolf ever spotted in The Netherlands after 133 years of absence. The wolf was spotted by a driver at the side of a road in the town of Sleen, Drenthe. Coming from Germany, where wolves had settled not far from the border.
5 July 2017: The wolf re-invades Luxembourg, the first wolf was spotted by a farmer late in the evening on his field in Leudelange in the south of Luxembourg. The wolf came from North France.
Later in 2017, another wolf was spotted in the Veluwe area in The Netherlands, coming from Germany.
11 January 2018: The first wolf in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. The wolf, which was equipped with a GPS transmitter, came from Germany trough The Netherlands, and settled in the forests around Leopoldsburg, Limburg. The wolf was given a name (almost all wolves in Flanders get a name): ‘Naya’. This is the start of a very busy wolf year.
The rest of 2018:
In 2018, in total 13 wolves came to the Benelux including Naya, this in contrast against only 3 wolves in the 7 years before. Five of them are certainly still in the Benelux (as of July 2020).
One individual who settled in the High Fens in the east of Wallonia (Southern part of Belgium), a couple: Naya and August in Limburg, Belgium. August came all the way from the north of Germany, trough The Netherlands and Naya and August are now mates.
The Netherlands got in total 9 visits of different wolves, two of them settled in the Veluwe area.
September 2019: Tragic news from Limburg, the now mother wolf: Naya, which probably just got cubs, was shot on purpose by hunters. Naya and the cubs are all killed. The hunter, who had a permit to hunt in nearby areas, moved his way to the area of the wolf with his jeep and killed the wolfs. The father wolf August wasn’t killed or hurt. Belgian nature movements and the ministry of nature couldn’t understand how this could have happened.
2019: The two wolves in the Veluwe are now a couple and got 5 cubs. A wandering wolf is seen in the province of Antwerp, but no name was givven. And a new wolf, given the name “Noëlla” was seen in the area of August. These two are formed a couple. August his second wife, after the death of Naya.
2020 (up to July): A half year past and August and Noëlla are still together, experts expect babies in the fall. In Belgium, 5 new wolfs were spotted, two of them, who settled in the Ardennes, are from the French-Italian line, it are the first wolves from the south of Europe who visited the Benelux. In Antwerp, Belgium a wolf was spotted and killed some sheep, the wolf is named “Billy”, now he also settled in the area around August and Noëlla. In Brabant, The Netherlands there was also a wolf seen.
The Benelux is welcoming the wolf, and the wolf is happy to be back. The Benelux is on his way to becoming the intersection for the wolves of the east and the wolves of the south. In one of the following years or decades, there will probably be an historic encounter between these two sorts.
It’s clear that human impact means life or dead for some species. The wolf in the Benelux is a perfect example for how the human can force some animals to extinction in some areas. But also how with human protection, species can re embrace there native grounds.
Thank you for reading,
Cumulonimbus
