Ten different wolves spotted in Netherlands this year

Ten different wolves visited the Netherlands in 2018, Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR) concludes after genetic testing on feces and DNA samples taken from bite wounds in attacked sheep. One she-wolf has been hanging around in the Netherlands for months and may be settling here, NU.nl reports.

Up to August traces of eight wolves were found in the Netherlands. Between August and October, two new females were observed, as well as one she-wolf also spotted multiple times earlier in the year. Wolves were spotted in Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel and on the Veluwe.

The DNA traces of the wolves can be traced back to Germany. The she-wolf that's been living in the Netherlands for months comes form a pack in Babben, about 600 kilometers from the Dutch border. She was spotted for the first time in Friesland in May. The animal then moved through Drenthe and Overijssel, before being seen on the Veluwe at the end of July.

So far the she-wolf is considered only a visitor to the Netherlands. If she is still in the Veluwe at the end of January, the wolf definitely settled in the Netherlands, according to WENR.