Belgium appears to have its own permanent wolf population as the French and the German wolf population recombine for the first time in over a century
The spread of wolves across Europe is something that has been championed by many over the last couple of decades. Having spread read back into Western Europe after the Iron Curtain came down they have established populations in almost every country.
Belgium however was thought to be too small and too densely populated to have anything on other than a transient (passing through) population.
However a she-wolf that has been living in Belgium for some time has now been seen to be pregnant. With the imminent arrival of the first Belgian born wolves in a long time the future looks good. Not only does it look like Belgium will have its own self-sustaining wolf population in the near future, but they seem to be crossing the border from Italy and France with increasing regularity. It is thought that three or four wolves from France have crossed into Belgium this year.
The Wolves that were in Belgium before this year are thought to have come from the Netherlands and Germany. As such this represents the collision of two populations of wolves in Europe that have been split for more than a century.
Of particular concern Belgium has a significant hunting population of humans. Generous compensation is paid to Farmers and they are given grants to help correct electric fences, while hunters often blame them it is thought that it is almost certain Hunters are to blame for the recent losses in the wolf population. The majority of Belgium’s population appear to be pleased that the wolf has returned the government must make sure that hunters are not allowed to extinguish this small population again.