A wolf was found dead along the N76 motorway in Limburg on Tuesday after most likely being hit by a car.
The wolf is believed to be named August, the male sire of a young wolf pack born to the she-wolf Noëlla. The chances of the wolf cubs surviving with a single parent are slim.
"The cubs are at an age where they cannot take care of themselves. They cannot hunt yet, but they do need solid food," said Koen Van Muylem, spokesperson for the Flanders Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). "The parents regurgitate the food they catch for the cubs. And that's actually how we found August, with his stomach full."
Because of Belgium's dense road network and large population of wolves, traffic accidents involving wolves are not a rare occurrence, but they usually involve younger wolves who are migrating away from their pack. One particularly unfortunate wolf pack lost seven out of ten cubs to traffic accidents, according to the INBO spokesperson.
Growing wolf population in Europe
Belgium is not the only country dealing with wolves killed or injured in traffic. Neighbouring countries like France, the Netherlands and Germany also have frequent roadkill incidents. In recent decades, Western Europe has seen a spontaneous growth in wolf populations, a wildlife trend that reached Belgium around five years ago.
Some safety measures trying to protect wildlife in Belgium include a system of cameras to track their movement and a motion-sensor detection system connected to traffic lights, but neither seems to be having a considerable effect. The only solution is to impose speed limits, especially on the roads that see a higher level of incidents than others, says the INBO spokesperson.
