It is estimated that 24 wolves are now settled in Belgium, Sudinfo headlines report on Friday. Three litters, including two in Wallonia, are expected during the year.
With two packs, one in Limburg and the other in the Hautes-Fagnes, 29 wolves were born in three years, but four cubs were killed by cars in Limburg. Others have left their pack to seek territory outside of Belgium.
It is estimated that there are 13 wolves left in Limburg (the parents and 11 young from the last two litters) and 11 in Wallonia (two pairs and two young from 2021, as well as five from 2022). Since November, a third couple has settled for good in a territory of the North Eifel straddling Germany and Belgium, not far from Butgenbach. It is an Italian-Alpine male from Germany, joined by a young female from one of these first Belgian litters. Everything suggests that in 2023, three litters of cubs will be born in Belgium, including two in Wallonia. “It is estimated that a territory such as Wallonia can accommodate 15 to 20 packs”, explains Alain Licoppe (Wallonia Public Service), head of the Walloon Wolf Network.
Alongside the couples who have settled permanently in our territory, Belgium sees a large number of “dispersing” wolves pass by each year: young people (from Germany or the Netherlands) who leave their families to seek their own territory to found their pack. Thirteen dispersing wolves, identified by their DNA, passed through Wallonia last year without settling there.