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With the confirmed presence of at least one male wolf spotted in the area, researchers say that the first Dutch wolf pack could come into existence within a few months.
After 140 years, the Netherlands is witnessing the slow emergence of an established wolf population in the country as the species is observed to be gradually returning to Europe's continental mainland following being hunted out over one hundred years ago.
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While sightings have occurred in the Netherlands over the past four years, it was assumed that the wolves were only in the region temporarily and would return to Germany where their populations had a permanently established home.
Tracking efforts have been conducted by ecologists, for FreeNature and Wolven, both of which have been studying the movements of two female wolves. One of the females can be classified as "established" in the region since data has shown that she has been a continuous resident in the area for some six months.
The collection of their prints and scat has allowed the researchers to identify the wolves using DNA samples. Ecologist Mirte Kruit compared the wolf droppings to popular dating app Tinder, explaining that "it can say if it's a male or female; are they single and looking for a mate and [tell you] about their family."
With the confirmed presence of at least one male wolf spotted in the area, the researchers believe that the first Dutch wolf pack could come into existence within a few months.
Wolves are back in the Netherlands. This leaves the UK as one of the few European countries without any wolves. Scotland could readily support wolves in the Highland - the population density is much lower than the Netherlands. It's time for their return. https://t.co/xMh2XGn1LT
— Alan Watson Featherstone (@AlanWatsonFeat1) April 9, 2019
Despite the good news, controversy surrounds the mysterious animals as farmers fear for the safety of their livestock. In France, sheep and goat farmers have reported about 12,000 incidents involving their herds, since the wolf populations returned in 1992.
While the Berne convention protects wolves from being hunted, they can be selectively slaughtered under certain circumstances. In France, authorities are awaiting confirmation on the population rate of wolves in order to determine whether the country will increase the cull rate from 12% to 17%.
Other farmers try to avoid killing wolves by installing electric fences and hiring skilled shepherds.
"We have to learn to cohabit," French farmer Andre Maurelle stated.
The Netherlands has been working with Wolven since 2008 in preparation of returning wolf populations.
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