Dutch province warns parents against taking young children to forests following wolf encounters

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A central Dutch province is urgently warning parents not to take young children to a popular forest area near the city of Utrecht following two recent close encounters with a wolf displaying “atypical and worrying” behavior.

Utrecht province on Thursday was preparing to seek a permit to kill the wolf, which is a protected species throughout the European Union. It was seeking support and approval from the agriculture ministry for the permit.

On Wednesday, a child was pushed over by a wolf in Austerlitz, the province said in a statement. The incident came two weeks after another confrontation led to the closure of a popular walking area.

“Assuming it was a wolf involved, wolf experts say that the behavior displayed is atypical and worrying,” the statement said. "The province takes seriously into account that it is the same wolf that was previously involved in incidents in Leusden with another girl and a dog.”

Wolves have been spreading from east to west across rural areas of the Netherlands for years ever since arriving from Germany. The animals were officially confirmed as having returned in 2019, two centuries after being hunted to extinction, when a pair produced a litter of cubs.

While conservationists have welcomed the reappearance of a predator, wolves have been blamed for a string of attacks on livestock and have increasingly come close to members of the public. Earlier this year, authorities in a national park were given permission to use a paintball gun to scare off an animal that had been approaching humans.

Despite wolves encroaching on populated areas, there have been no serious injuries reported as a result of attacks.

Fauna Protection, a group that lobbies against hunting, said on X that “urgent advice is good, shooting is not.”