Child possibly bitten by a wolf in Leusden near where a wolf recently attacked a dog

A child was bitten by what was likely a wolf on the Den Treek estate, a wooded area in Leusden. The incident happened close to where a wolf attacked a dog recently. The child's after-school caregiver, BSO Vrijland, released a statement saying the child was in good condition after the incident.

The attack happened in front of an employee and was very brief, with the apparent wolf sprinting towards the child at high speed. It then ran back into the forest after the confrontation. The child was left with cuts and scratches, and has been to visit a general practitioner. The child's parents did not wish to comment to the media about the incident.

While the case is investigated by police, the Province of Utrecht said people should avoid the nature reserve near Leusden. It cautioned that two wolves in the area may be protecting their young. "The wolf pair has cubs and therefore behaves very defensively towards dogs and people who come too close."

Den Treek steward Wilbert Nijlant also said that he thinks it was a wolf. "The behavior and the location are the same as last week's incident in which a dog was bitten," he told RTV Utrecht.

The after-school center, which is based in Amersfoort, frequently organizes outdoor excursions for children. BSO Vrijland said it will now only allow children to play in nature areas where the wolf has not been spotted.

BSO Vrijland is an outdoor after-school care organization where the children are outside 99 percent of the time, according to the after-school care center's website. This entails around 100 children going into nature areas after school, spread out over various areas.

The incident comes a few months after a court ruled that the Province of Gelderland was wrong to issue a permit to scare off a wolf that had been getting close to people with a paintball gun. The Den Treek estate in Leusden, Utrecht, is just a few kilometers from the border with Gelderland.