Two young wolves, born in 2021 in the Flemish municipality of Hechtel-Eksel in the province of Limburg, have just migrated to the Netherlands, according to the Flemish Institute for Nature and Forest Research (INBO).
Dutch researchers managed to track the origin of the set of wolves that had been killing sheep by using their DNA. One of the animals has remained in Dutch Limburg, not far from Belgium, while another has wandered into the province of Gelderland in central Holland.
DNA from one of the wolves was found in seven different locations between November and December in the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland. So far, this wolf have killed a pony and numerous sheep.
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There is potential for more wolf cubs in the future. Alongside the DNA of the wolf found in Gelderland, researchers also picked up traces of a female wolf. It is possible that the young wolf has formed a couple with a female, but this is not certain.
Belgium's wolf population has rebounded due to legal protection and migration from other countries. As of January, Belgium had 24 wolves, with hopes that a new litter would soon be on the way. Belgium's last native wolf was shot and killed by Belgian King Leopold II in the 1890s.
