Nature area near Leusden is partly closed for just under a month after wolf attack

A nature area by Leusden where a wolf pair has been living with their cubs will be partly closed to visitors starting immediately and lasting until August 15. The province of Utrecht and the municipality of Leusden issued an emergency order for the area on Thursday, instructing the owner to no longer open the area. The decision follows an incident on Tuesday on the Den Treek estate, where a girl was bitten by a wolf.

The after-school care organization that the child was out with reported that the child was slightly injured as the animal did not continue biting. The province then called on people to avoid the area for the time being, but according to Mayor Gerolf Bouwmeester of Leusden and Utrecht deputy Huib van Essen, this had insufficient effect.

The province said that its measures are precautionary only, and for now, there will be additional monitoring in the region. It includes temporarily forbidding people from entering the main area of the Den Treek estate, and the closure of a small, unorganized campground. The consultant brought in to help is also providing advice to a larger campsite and a horseback riding school.

The advice to stay away from a larger part of the nature reserve continues to apply. According to the municipality and province, "Recreationalalists, athletes, walkers and (leashed) dogs can be disruptive and cause new confrontations." Such encounters are frightening for people and threatening for the wolf.

Bouwmeester added that the area was closed on the advice of the province's experts. "I am assuming that everybody is understanding about this, and I am urgently appealing to common sense so that everyone in Leusden can stay safe and healthy."

A dog on a leash was bitten and then taken by a wolf in the same area earlier this month. The dog has not been seen since. After the incident, extra warning signs were placed in the area, and the province and municipalities warned visitors of the nature areas in Leusden, Zeist, and Woudenberg to stay alert to the presence of the wolf.

The wolf is a protected species. It can only be disturbed, caught, or killed when it shows unnatural behavior or in an acutely dangerous situation.

Specialists called the attack on the dog natural behavior, adding that the wolf only attacked because the dog came near its cubs.