“If we come across the wolf, we’ll see,” it sounds on the Heuvelrug

“This morning I turned on the TV to see what would be again,” says Lieke Ridder from Alphen aan den Rijn, who is walking with her teenage daughters in the forests of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug at the Pyramid of Austerlitz on Thursday. “Then I saw the news about the wolf.

Knight (“Van ‘t Weekend 46”) and her daughters Silke (15) and Mijke (17) had not been to the pyramid for at least a year. “We are looking for the green route.” They cannot be stopped by the news that a six -year -old boy was sprinkled here a day before, bitten and dragged by what was probably a wolf. The animal only let go when bystanders made it with sticks. The boy kept shavings and bite wounds that had to be attached.

That same evening, province and municipalities the advice to: Do not go into the forest with children. The pyramid of Austerlitz, a monument from the time of Napoleon with a large playground nearby, is one of the most popular attractions on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. Children are few, on this afternoon during the summer holidays.

The teenagers Mijke and Silke have been as long as their mother. “It won’t be that scary,” says Mijke. Mother Lieke: “If we meet him, we’ll see.” Mijke: “Just like with a bear, just stand still.” Lieke: “I assume that he will not come back now.” Silke: “You don’t know that.”

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Revolver

It is precisely in this area that a wolf lives that attacks people and dogs, ‘Problem Wolf’ GW3237 (M) who was nicknamed Bram. Earlier this month, the province granted a permit to shoot the animal. Whether the six-year-old boy has also been attacked by ‘Bram’ must show DNA research. “We are currently doing everything we can to get a DNA spread analysis through a certified laboratory at home or abroad,” said a province spokesperson.

Stefaan Callens and Marianne Hugelier (both 62) have a good pace during their cycling round from their hotel in Amersfoort. They come from Kortrijk in Belgium. They know that there are wolves in this area. “They are more common, just like in Belgium,” says Hugelier. They only hear the news about the wolf attack in these forests when the reporter tells about it. “Now it is a shock,” she says. Her husband Stefaan Callens grabs theatrical to his pocket. “I grab my revolver. But seriously: we were not prepared for this.”

The Belgian holidaymakers are surprised: a wolf does not take a child? But their plans for today change – no. “We try to get back to the hotel without cracks,” says Callens. He looks at his written list with numbers of bicycle junctions. “We are halfway, nineteen kilometers to go.”

Shyness

The presence of the wolf in the Netherlands, a protected animal species, has been discussing for years. Two wolves that lost their shyness and behave threatening or aggressively against people have been officially labeled ‘problem wolf’. Those are the aforementioned ‘Bram’, who lives in the Den Treek-Henschoten estate where the boy was attacked yesterday, and a man in the Veluwe who attacked a runner in April.

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Both wolves may be shot – the provinces of Utrecht and Gelderland granted permits for this. Although those permits were challenged by animal protectors to the court (for ‘Bram’ that happened last week), the provinces were right: the risks are too large and good alternatives to shooting are missing.

Ever since the first wolf attacks, warnings have been done for the wolf, such as: keep dogs on the line briefly, let children up to ten years not just go into the forest and keep them in sight. That advice has now been tightened in Utrecht.

I understand very well that people get anxious. But other solutions are also conceivable

Natural habitat

Klarina Schot (38) and Daphne Hulsker (29), walking on a sandy path between oak and bird cherry, say that she is more concerned about the military training ground on the right than the wolf. “It is nature,” says Hulsker, now seriously, “we have to learn to live with it.” “This is their natural habitat,” Schot adds.

Asked if they understand that ‘problem wolves’ can be shot, they hesitate. “I find it difficult,” says Schot. “It’s their area. When you see it, you have to make sure you stay away.” Hulsker: “I understand very well that people are becoming anxious. But other solutions are also conceivable. You can sender wolves so that you can follow where they are.” It seems useful to her that areas with wolves are closed to visitors in cubs. “So that the wolf becomes human again.”

Mother Lieke Ridder and her daughters Silke and Mijke understand the wolf – but also for the decision to shoot problem wolves. “I think on the one hand: it is nature, and the wolf has always lived in the Netherlands,” says Lieke. “But it should not be at the expense of farmers,” says Silke. She wants to become a dairy farmer herself, there are several farmers in their family. Lieke: “Dogs attacking a person are also killed.” But they stay calm, they are starting to start the green post route. Mijke: “I think it’s good.” Silke: “As long as I keep alive, I think it’s fine.”

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