Naya is the 1st known wolf in Belgium in over 100 years — and she may be looking for a mate

Samenvatting

After traveling hundreds of kilometres across parts of Europe, Naya has become the first recorded wolf to enter Belgium in at least a century.

"She spent a few weeks in the Netherlands during Christmas and New Years. And then … she passed over into Belgium," Hugh Jansman, an ecologist and researcher with Wageningen University in the Netherlands told As It Happens host Carol Off. He has been following Naya's trek.

Naya was trapped by Norman Stier from the Technical University of Dresden when she was six months old and given a tracking collar. At the time, she was living with her parental pack in Germany.

Hugh Jansman is an ecologist in the Netherlands who has been following Naya's journey. (WUR )

But last October, she set off on her own. Now, Naya has made her home in a large military area near the town of Leopoldsburg in Belgium.
'Recolonizing former habitats'

The arrival of Naya in Belgium is part of a resurgence of wolves in parts of Europe, explains Jansman.

Wolves disappeared from most of Western Europe starting in the beginning of the 20th century, but have been resurfacing. Last May, researchers reported that the first pack of wolves in 200 years had settled in Denmark.

This is in large part due to the "rewilding" campaign and the 1979 Berne Convention, which considered the wolf a strictly protected species and a "fundamental elements of our natural European heritage."

"We are in the front of the wave of wolves recolonizing former habitats," said Jansman.

But not everyone is impressed by Naya's arrival.

"The emotions regarding the wolves are quite mixed," said Jansman.

Last week, two sheep were killed and one injured in the Belgian municipality of Meerhout. The incident matches the location and timing of Naya's travels and this has farmers worried that their animals are at risk.
A young male wolf looks out as it explores its new enclosure at The Wild Place Project on March 13, 2014 in Bristol, England. Jansman says he expects Naya to be a mother in the next year, which means the number of wolves in Belgium will be on the rise for the first time in more than 100 years. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images).

In the Netherlands, Jansman said there is a wolf management plan. If DNA tests show that sheep were in fact killed by a wolf, the farmers will be compensated by the government. Killing a wolf is not an option unless it is considered a larger risk to the public and cattle. Naya has been tracked in Belgium, and Jansman said since the report of her appearance became public people have been calling to say they may have seen her. Researchers are now corroborating those reports with her tracker history.