Dossier
Wolves
After an absence of approximately 150 years, the wolf has re-established itself in the Netherlands. This dossier provides you with the latest news, background information and results of Wageningen University & Research on wolves in the Netherlands.
Wageningen University & Research monitors the return of the wolf through DNA research. Faeces that are found are tested for DNA in our labs, to determine if they are wolf-faeces, and if so, from which specific animal. To this end, we collaborate with the German research institute Senckenberg though the CEwolf-consortium. This information allows provincial governments to take substantiated decisions on their policies regarding the wolf. Most wolves in the Netherlands lead a roaming existence, but the first female wolf has now settled on the Veluwe.
Fauna consultants also extract DNA from sheep suspected to have been slain by a wolf. Our research reveals whether a wolf is indeed the predator responsible for the sheep’s death within a month: the BIJ12 website documents these instances and the DNA results (only in Dutch). Each quarter a genetic profile is generates for these cases, to enable individual identification.
This is how our research works
News about wolves
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We must learn to live alongside wolves
- Wolves have returned to the Netherlands. Over the past few years, the animals have started passing through the Netherlands, with a number of them... -
Pregnant wolf Veluwe had pneumonia, but was otherwise in good condition
- In early March, a female wolf was roadkilled on the Zuidwest Veluwe. The animal appeared to be pregnant with eight embryos. She also had a serious...
Publications about wolves
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Context-dependent responses of naïve ungulates to wolf-sound playback in a human-dominated landscape
Animal Behaviour 185 (2022). - ISSN 0003-3472 - p. 9 - 20. -
De wolf terug in Nederland : Een factfinding study
Wageningen : Wageningen Environmental Research (Rapport / Wageningen Environmental Research 3107) - p. -
Wolves return to Netherlands
Wolves return to Netherlands, Telangana Today, 2021-04-08, https://telanganatoday.com/wolves-return-to-netherlands -
Genetic support for the current discrete conservation unit of the Central European wolf population
Wildlife Biology 2021 (2021)2. - ISSN 0909-6396 -
Living with Conflicts over Wolves. The Case of Redes Natural Park
Society & Natural Resources 34 (2021)1. - ISSN 0894-1920 - p. 82 - 98. -
Wolves in search of habitats
De wolf zoekt z’n plekje, Wageningen World 3 p. 26-29, 2020-09-11, https://edepot.wur.nl/530808;Wolves in search of habitats, Wageningen World 3 p. 26-29, 2020-09-10, https://edepot.wur.nl/530824 -
Understanding the acceptability of wolf management actions: Roles of cognition and emotion
Human Dimensions of Wildlife 25 (2020)1. - ISSN 1087-1209 - p. 33 - 46. -
Cognitive and Affective Predictors of Illinois Residents’ Perceived Risks from Gray Wolves
Society & Natural Resources 33 (2020)5. - ISSN 0894-1920 - p. 574 - 593. -
Habitat Suitability Analysis for the golden jackal (Canis aureus) in the Netherlands
Lutra 62 (2019)1. - ISSN 0024-7634 - p. 13 - 29. -
Managing European wolves: Views of future decision makers