The fuss about the wolf excursion by Natuurmonumenten on the Dwingelderveld has not led to a large crowd. There was room for twelve participants, but on Saturday there were only eight, and they were not your average participants. Three journalists, a spokesperson for Natuurmonumenten, two friends and a young couple took part in the two-hour excursion yesterday. Three participants did not show up.
According to guide Barbara, volunteer at Natuurmonumenten, there was a lot of interest in the wolf excursions when they started in Drenthe in August. She found yesterday’s group very interested, but the atmosphere is not always so good. “People sometimes ask critical questions or talk through me. Then I say that I first want to tell my story and then they can give their opinion.”
Last week a riot arose after a tweet from LTO Noord foreman Dirk Bruins that the wolf excursion would be a revenue model. LTO Noord then launched the wolf safari, which would visit sheep farmers who had dead sheep as a result of a wolf attack. Though serious, it was more of an attempt to push the subject of wolf even higher on the agenda than it already was.
No revenue model
Natuurmonumenten has been organizing wolf excursions in the Veluwe for four years and in Drenthe since August this year. Non-members pay 12.50 euros and members receive a discount. On average, according to spokesman Fred Prak, about eight participants participate. “We have now given the excursion in Drenthe eight times and the income from this is a total of 600 euros. The costs still have to be deducted, such as the costs for the training of volunteers who give the excursion. If this is the revenue model of Natuurmonumenten, then we’ll be bankrupt next week.”
At the beginning of the excursion, guide Barbara calls it a compliment from nature that the wolf returned after 150 years. “Apparently we are doing something right. He came here himself. It’s not that the wolf was put out here because we want it to return. We have no control over whether the wolf belongs here, it does that itself.”
One of the participants says that she is joining us because she has a broad interest in nature. She also has many conversations about nature and the wolf and then participating in the excursion helps to provide the necessary argumentation.
Myth: wolf attacks people
With a hand puppet of a wolf, the guide illustrates that there are many myths about the wolf. “One of those myths is that the wolf attacks people. Well, he’s far too shy for that. He will always avoid us,” Barbara says.
But what about that wolf in the Veluwe, who now has to learn by using paintball guns because he regularly stays close to people that he really should be afraid of humans? It certainly can’t be called shy. A video of a wolf chasing a cyclist in the Veluwe went on Thursday viral. Also in Drenthe there are signals from wolves that approach people from close by. For example, VVD Member of Parliament Mark Strolenberg received a report of a wolf chasing a cyclist in Wittelte.
The draft wolf plan, which is currently being commented by the provinces, states the following about a confrontation between the wolf and man: ‘Wolf repeatedly tolerates people approaching him less than 30 meters: problem situation.’ And if the wolf’s behavior doesn’t change, then it’s a problem wolf that needs to be shot. That is already possible; no new policy is needed for that.
Feeding wolf creates problem wolf
“That wolf on the Veluwe is a young wolf that people now apparently associate with food. In Germany there is an example of a wolf that was shot because it was fed by soldiers on a training ground,” says Fred Prak, spokesperson for Natuurmonumenten. It may sound a bit crazy to pelt the wolf in the Veluwe with paintballs, but according to him it could possibly help to change the association ‘human = food’ and ensure that the wolf regains a healthy fear of people. .
Barbara says that a little more than half of the wolf’s menu consists of roe deer. In addition, the wolf eats hares, rabbits and fallow deer. On the Veluwe, that menu is supplemented with wild boar and red deer. The latter belong to the large game category and as far as the province of Drenthe is concerned, there is no room for this.
The province of Drenthe applies a zero setting for wild boars. Spontaneous establishment of red deer, who are allowed to enter the province from elsewhere, can take years. The deer population is managed for road safety reasons. A proposal from the Party for the Animals in the Provincial Council that called for changes to fauna management plans due to the presence of the wolf was rejected at the end of September.