Nine wolf packs currently living in Netherlands; Could increase up to six-fold in future

Nine wolf packs currently live in the Netherlands: seven in the Veluwe, one in central Drenthe, and one in the border area of Friesland, Drenthe, and Overijssel. In the future, that can increase to between 23 and 56 Dutch wolf packs, according to research by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture.

The scientists looked at the types of landscapes where wolves with transmitters live in Germany and compared that to the landscape in the Netherlands. They looked at things like population density and the extent to which people have adapted the landscape, among other things.

According to the researchers, if future wolves prove to be not too picky about the landscape, they can settle permanently in almost the entire northeast of the Netherlands, Flevoland, on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, and in large parts of Noord-Brabant. If they prove more discerning, the researchers think wolf packs will settle across the Veluwe, southeastern Flevoland, the Drents-Friese Wold, and parts of Noord-Brabant.

The first wolf was spotted in the Netherlands in 2015, and the first animal settled permanently in the Veluwe in 2018. Since then, their number has grown to nine packs, with an average of five to nine wolves per pack.

When and how the number of packs will expand further is really anyone’s guess, Dennis Lammertsma, an ecologist at WUR and one of the authors of the study, told NOS. “That depends on all kinds of factors. How many young do they have? Do they end up on the highway? Do they move to Belgium?”

Wolves are opportunistic creatures who adapt relatively easily to new circumstances, which also makes it harder to predict exactly where they will settle. The researchers consider it unlikely that a pack will settle in the west of the Netherlands because the population density and human influence there are relatively great. Settlement in open cultural landscapes like the Flevopolders, Friesland, and Zeeland is less likely, but can’t be completely ruled out.

Glen Lelieveld, coordinator of the Mammal Society's wolf reporting center, agrees with the research. “These results are broadly consistent with my 2014 study, in which I predicted about 59 packs,” she told NOS. She thinks the research can help policymakers help locals get used to their new neighbors. “Contact between people and wolves must be kept as minimal as possible. It’s in everyone’s interest.”

The return of the wolf was widely celebrated in 2015, but the animal’s advance has caused increasing problems in the years since. The number of attacks on farm animals has increased in recent years. And Drenthe is dealing with a wolf that is approaching people, likely because it has been fed hamburgers and frikandels. The province has been trying to get the go-ahead to shoot the wolf with paintballs for over a year.

The European Commission is investigating whether the wolf's protected status can be adjusted now that it is gaining more ground. The Ministry of Agriculture expects to inform parliament next week what position the Netherlands will take on this topic in Europe.