Belgium is becoming “the wolf crossroads of Europe”, a conservation charity has said as it reported new sightings from France and Germany, while Flemish authorities separately announced the imminent arrival of wolf puppies.
Flanders’ environment minister, Zuhal Demir, announced that a pair of wolves in the north of the country were expecting cubs, four months after arrival in the area of a female wolf, Noëlla, who was billed as “a potential new love” for a previously lone wolf, August.
The minister vowed that the Limburg province where the wolves have made their territory would be strictly guarded to prevent Noëlla from succumbing to the same fate as Naya, the likely former mate of August, who officials believe was killed by hunters. Naya’s cubs also died, presumed to have been shot by hunters or to have starved. Welkom Wolf said a German she-wolf had joined a German male on the plateau of the High Fens, an area of boggy moor and woodland rich in rare plants, grasses and endangered black grouse.
Wolves returned to Belgium in 2011 after being wiped out during the 19th century. The wolves in Flanders are thought to have travelled from lowland Germany via the Netherlands, while the majority in Wallonia have come from French mountain regions. Both groups are from the same species but they have not mixed for more than 200 years. Experts determine a wolf’s origins by taking DNA samples from excrement and matching them to a European database. Farmers are allowed to erect electric fencing to keep out wolves and can claim compensation if sheep are killed despite their efforts.
Source: The Guardian
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