Dutch parents warned not to take their children into the forest after ‘worrying’ encounters with wolves

The Hague the Netherlands –

A province in central Netherlands is urgently warning parents not to take young children to a popular forest area near the city of Utrecht, after two recent encounters with a wolf that displayed “atypical and worrying” behavior.

The province of Utrecht prepared on Thursday to apply for a permit to kill the wolf, a protected species throughout the European Union. It sought support and approval from the Ministry of Agriculture for the permit.

A child was knocked over by a wolf in Austerlitz on Wednesday, the province said in a statement. The incident occurred two weeks after another confrontation led to the closure of a popular hiking area.

“Assuming it was a wolf, wolf experts say the behavior shown is atypical and worrying,” the statement said. “The province seriously considers that it is the same wolf that was previously involved in incidents in Leusden with another girl and a dog.”

Wolves have been spreading from east to west across rural areas in the Netherlands for years, since arriving from Germany. The animals officially returned in 2019, two centuries after they were hunted to extinction, when a pair gave birth to a litter of cubs.

While conservationists hail the return of a predator, wolves have been blamed for a series of livestock attacks and are increasingly approaching the public. Earlier this year, authorities in a national park were given permission to use a paintball gun to scare off an animal that was approaching people.

Although wolves are increasingly common in residential areas, no serious injuries have been reported as a result of attacks.

Fauna Protection, a group that lobbies against hunting, said on X that “urgent advice is good, don’t shoot.”