First possible wolf killed by car in the Netherlands

[Niels]

Might not be as relevant to you as it is to me, but still, the possibility of a wolf here is exciting news.
Stomach contents included beaver.

POSSIBLE WOLF KILLED BY CAR IN NORTHEASTPOLDER (THE NETHERLANDS)

Thursday morning, the 4th of july, a run over animal with the appearance of a European wolf was found at the Uiterdijkenroad in a town called Luttelgeest (The Netherlands). DNA has been collected for research. If it indeed is a wolf, this will be the first certain wolf since over 150 years in The Netherlands.

The animal possibly got hit by a car at the night of july 3rd. Experts from The Netherlands and Germany think it truely is a wolf, but cannot tell for certain since it can also be a wolfdog. Such recent crossbreedings between wolf and dog can look a lot like wolves. DNA of the animal is send to Germany to get assurance about it’s identity.

Over the last 8 years, the wolf population in German has been highly increasing. Last year the first wolf pups were born at the Lüneburger Heide (Germany). This year two packs in Niedersachsen had pups. Growing up young wolves leave their pack when they are one or two years old, travel great distances with an average of 50 kilometers per night. Recently one of these young lone wolves has been caught on picture at a military training fields, only 15 kilometers away from the borders of The Netherlands, and about 100 kilometers away from the northeastpolder. That is not more that two nights walking for a wolf. Earlier there were reports of wolves seen at Duiven and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen.

Go to wolveninnederland for more information in Dutch.

Translation source: http://wolveswolves.tumblr.com/

 

[Wayland]

Sad but exciting at the same time.

I'd like to see wolves make a comeback in Europe and maybe even Britain but it has to be said, I'm not a farmer, so I can see that mine might not be the only opinion on that.

 

[Lou]

Wow, that is an exciting, yet worrying thought. There has been a wolf introduction scheme on the other side of the mountains from us in Italy, but the farmers are up in arms about it as they think the wolves will be eating their sheep. They still farm traditionally with moveable fencing which wolves could get through and I have seen more and more of the big mountain sheepdogs around lately put in place to guard the livestock, even down in the valleys. Sad though it is to say, but the wolves were eradicated from Europe for this very reason in the first place, and I know for a fact that there is a whole lot of opposition to wolf reintroduction here in France. I understand both sides of the argument for and against wolf reintroduction and I would ABSOLUTELY love to see wolves around here again, but I also love it that traditional nomadic farming has been able to continue in the more remote parts of the alps.

 

[Niels]

They're protected by law here. I just hope they don't go shooting them like they shot that first bear in Germany a few years ago.
I think the sheep farmers should take measures against the wolves with guard dogs and such. And the governement should pay or at least contribute to these measures.

 

[Albus Culter]

As all the above really. An evocative animal and a symbol of so many things. Unfortunate it's at the top of its game when it comes to hunting and anywere were there is farming or human habitation will always conflict.
Its a shame the worlds got so small that there is not a place for everything. We humans unfortunately top it all and can live practically anywere we put our minds to it. Nice to be part of such an amazing species but a shame that it means we push out others.

Would love to be able to sit and watch them. Thanks for sharing this Niels

 

[Man of Tanith]

Pity the wolf was killed. The fact its there is exciting.
The problem with wolves and farming is that wolves and in fact all predators are natures method of preventing excess numbers in the prey animals.
So a wolf is thinning the herd. Unfortunately to a farmer the herd is a cash investment not excess numbers.

I'd like to see a harmonious resolution but I doubt it'll happen

 

[British Red]

They're protected by law here. I just hope they don't go shooting them like they shot that first bear in Germany a few years ago.
I think the sheep farmers should take measures against the wolves with guard dogs and such. And the governement should pay or at least contribute to these measures.

Now that is a great post - a mature and sensible position. I think that is they key

The attitude of

"I want chuffing great carnivores on other peoples land...cos its a cool idea" is both selfish and naïve IMO - wanting something you fancy and imposing it on other people who have to pay for the consequences.

Equally well an attitude of

"Nature has no relevance and all creatures should be farmed" is narrow minded and short sighted.

There are a variety of issues that must be considered.

No one individual or group should have to bear financial costs of such a re-introduction. So some sort of compensation scheme for protection or losses seems fairest - the whole population bears the cost.

We should also think about the killing of pets and even human attacks - do we accept the odd pet being killed? What if the predator feels threatened and attacks? Rare - but it happens.

Also how are the numbers controlled - they will need to be to some extent - how does that work?

I'm sure all these details can be worked out with goodwill and making sure that no one group or area is disproportionately affected.

Red

 

[Dave]

Good documentary here:
Return of the European Wolf.

[video=youtube;ryo7X7Gy5N0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryo7X7Gy5N0[/video]

 

[Albus Culter]

That's what I wanted to say but better put

So plus one to Reds comment

Now that is a great post - a mature and sensible position. I think that is they key

The attitude of

"I want chuffing great carnivores on other peoples land...cos its a cool idea" is both selfish and naïve IMO - wanting something you fancy and imposing it on other people who have to pay for the consequences.

Equally well an attitude of

"Nature has no relevance and all creatures should be farmed" is narrow minded and short sighted.

There are a variety of issues that must be considered.

No one individual or group should have to bear financial costs of such a re-introduction. So some sort of compensation scheme for protection or losses seems fairest - the whole population bears the cost.

We should also think about the killing of pets and even human attacks - do we accept the odd pet being killed? What if the predator feels threatened and attacks? Rare - but it happens.

Also how are the numbers controlled - they will need to be to some extent - how does that work?

I'm sure all these details can be worked out with goodwill and making sure that no one group or area is disproportionately affected.

Red

 

[Niels]

Would love to be able to sit and watch them. Thanks for sharing this Niels

I probably won't see them either. Look:



Dog is where I am. Wolf is where that wolf was found. Many cities and highways to cross before I see any.

 

[Niels]

Update: They have done an autopsy. There was no chip, which a domestic hybrid would have normally had, (dogs have to have a chip here) so it's highly likely that it's a wolf now. But they're still going to do DNA research.

 

[Turnstone]

Thanks Niels for posting this. Wolves are fascinating animals and watching them return is great. We had lots of discussions in Germany too because they killed sheep, but the government pays the farmer a compensation (I don't know if that covers the loss, but it's a start). I would love to see a wild wolf one day, but they are rare and shy.
It's a shame that this one was killed by a car.

 

[sandbender]

"...with guard dogs and such..."

I can with some experience recommend the Komondor, three of which are enough to keep a pack of about ten wolves away from a small herd of sheep and four horses.

 

[Niels]

I can with some experience recommend the Komondor, three of which are enough to keep a pack of about ten wolves away from a small herd of sheep and four horses.

I can imagine. A wolf would just get a mouth full of hair trying to bite that

I hope a peaceful solution can be found in the Netherlands, as they have found in Germany. It's only the first, but looking at how far over the border he's got, there could very well be more wolves here already.

 

[jim.b]

there was talk of re introducing them here in the uk, mainly to keep things like badgers, wild boar and deer under control, personally i cant see how this would work as im sure wolfs wont discriminate when their hungry between kept livestock and wild prey, it would be nice to see them in the wild but i cant see it happening through intentional re-introduction. maybe through escape from a park or zoo though.

 

[Niels]

maybe through escape from a park or zoo though.

That's how most of the beavers we have in the Netherlands today came into nature.

 

[jim.b]

nature always finds a way

 

[santaman2000]

Might not be as relevant to you as it is to me, but still, the possibility of a wolf here is exciting news.
Stomach contents included beaver.

That photo looks more like a coyote to me than a wolf.

 

[santaman2000]

I can with some experience recommend the Komondor, three of which are enough to keep a pack of about ten wolves away from a small herd of sheep and four horses.

For three dogs to keep a pack of wolves away you'd have to have either extremely docile wolves or extremely ferocious dogs. Wolves here hunt dogs.

On the other hand you mentioned four horses. Interestingly donkeys are sometimes used here to protect livestock from wolves and coyotes (a mule has even been known to kill a cougar)

 

[sandbender]

"...Interestingly donkeys are sometimes used here to protect livestock from wolves and coyotes (a mule has even been known to kill a cougar)..."

Have you stood next to a Komondor?
They are remarkably friendly to those they know but can be quite ferocious when they think they or their charges are under threat. They will often see off bears that stray on to their patch, that patch can be quite large, the Komondor will often go out on 'patrol'.

Are the wolves of Transylvania docile, as compared to anywhere else, I don't know, but I cannot imagine why they would be. However to add more detail to the story, there was a donkey present, it was tied to the barn and couldn't get to the paddock where the dogs were protecting the horses and sheep, the wolves killed it, but they didn't get to eat too much of it so we presume the dogs chased them off.

You can see a pic of one of the dogs and donkey in question here.