The animal that recently bit a hiker on the Utrecht estate Den Treek was indeed a wolf. DNA research shows that it is the same animal as in several biting incidents last summer. The province of Utrecht now wants to shoot the wolf.
The province states that the wolf in question poses a direct danger to people. The Utrecht Fauna Management Unit will apply for the shooting permit. It may take several weeks before it is issued, the province reports.
Last summer, the province wanted to equip a wolf that came too close to people and dogs several times and knocked over a girl with a transmitter. This would allow the animal to be monitored and intervention would be easier.
The judge suspended that application because the wolf turned out not to be a solitary wolf, but the father of a number of cubs. Even then, the province indicated that new facts could lead to “further measures.”
The result of the rapid DNA analysis after last week’s incident at Den Treek has been compared with all collected DNA information about wolves. This shows that it concerns the wolf with the code name GW3237m, which also showed problem behavior last year.
The manager of the Den Treek-Henschoten estate, located on the transition from the Utrechtse Heuvelrug to the Gelderse Vallei, already called last week to avoid the area for the time being. Part of Den Treek was closed to the public for weeks last year to prevent incidents with a wolf.