Wolf sparks warning to keep children out of forest in Netherlands
Authorities have issued an urgent warning to visitors with small children to avoid a forested area in the central Netherlands after several “disturbing” incidents involving a wolf, including a child who was bitten.
The latest encounter happened on Wednesday morning when “a large animal”, presumed to be the wolf, knocked over a child near the village of Austerlitz, about 16km (10 miles) east of Utrecht.
The child in the latest incident was not injured, but a young girl on an afterschool outing was bitten 10 days ago in the same area. DNA tests confirmed a wolf as the culprit.
Called the Utrecht Ridge Hills, the area is thickly forested and a favoured by hikers, cyclists and runners.
Wolves first appeared back in the Netherlands in 2015 after an absence of 150 years, with dozens being spotted since, but the animals remain elusive and generally avoid humans.
The Utrecht province “calls on all visitors to be extremely careful when visiting the Utrecht Ridge Hills area”, according to its statement issued late on Wednesday. “The urgent advice is not to visit these forests with small children.”
In early July, a woman reported her poodle being killed by a wolf. The statement said it “seriously considers that it is the same wolf that was previously involved in the incidents with the other girl and a dog”.
Wolf experts said the animal showed “atypical and disturbing behaviour,” the statement added.
The province was preparing a permit to shoot the animal as a result of the incidents, authorities said, and also gave instructions when encountering a wolf.
“Do not run away but make yourself big, make gestures or noises. Walk backwards slowly,” the instructions said.