Belgium is becoming “the wolf crossroads of Europe”, a conservation charity has said as it reported new sightings from France and Germany, while Flemish authorities separately announced the imminent arrival of wolf puppies.
Over the weekend the charity Welkom Wolf announced that four wolves had arrived in the southern Belgian region of Wallonia in the first three months of the year, bringing the regional total to six.
The four newcomers included three males from France or Italy and the first she-wolf in Belgium’s natural reserve High Fens for 200 years. The female’s arrival would certainly lead to a wolf pack.
Wolves returned to Belgium in 2011 after being wiped out during the 19th century. The wolves in Flanders are thought to have travelled from lowland Germany via the Netherlands, while the majority in Wallonia have come from French mountain regions. Both groups are from the same species but they have not mixed for more than 200 years.
