Wolf: Province warns locals not to bring small children to Utrechtse Heuvelrug forests

The province of Utrecht and various municipalities issued an “urgent warning” calling on people not to enter the forests of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug with small children for the time being. The reason is a possible second incident involving a child and a wolf near Austerlitz on Wednesday morning. A child was knocked over or pushed by a “large animal,” which may have been a wolf.

The warning applies to the forest area in the municipalities of Leusden, Woudenberg, Utrechtse Heuvelrug, and Zeist. In other parts of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, the advice is to be “very careful.”

Wolf experts called the wolf's behavior “atypical and disturbing,” the province said. “The province seriously considers that this is the same wolf that was previously involved in incidents in Leusden with another girl and a dog and has, therefore, decided to prepare a shooting permit.”

The province already requested an urgent DNA analysis and asked the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature and the municipalities involved for “support and approval” for the shooting of the wolf.

The Den Treek estate in Leusden has recently been cordoned off after a girl was bitten by a wolf there in July. A pair of wolves with cubs live in the area.