Flemish wolf pack loses its male leader: 'He has been missing since 28 August'
The male wolf Maurice, part of the Limburg pack and father of this year’s cubs, has died. That is the conclusion reached by the Flemish Institute for Nature and Forest Research (INBO), which confirmed to public broadcaster VRT NWS that Maurice has been missing since 28 August.
The rest of the pack - the female wolf Noëlla and her cubs - have been sighted several times since then. INBO researchers had long suspected that Maurice had died. “After carefully reviewing all our camera footage, we have no choice but to conclude that the male wolf is no longer there,” said the institute. Field searches have also been carried out, but no traces were found.
According to INBO, it is highly unlikely that Maurice would have left without the rest of his pack. "That almost never happens with wolves that have cubs," explained a spokesperson. During the last observations, Maurice was limping. "Among healthy wolves, the natural mortality rate is around 12 per cent. For injured individuals, it is significantly higher," the institute noted.
Maurice arrived in Belgium in spring 2024, having left the Veluwe region of the Netherlands after his companion was killed in a road traffic accident. He had also been hit by a car, but survived with a permanent injury that left him with a limp. While in Belgium, he met Noëlla, who had also recently lost her partner in similar circumstances.
The pair’s cubs, born in spring this year, are now almost fully grown. The exact number is still uncertain, but it is believed that there are at least seven.
These young wolves will soon start hunting alone. “They are inexperienced and curious. They will probably venture closer to roads, which increases the risk of collisions,” warned INBO.
Of the 28 pups born to Noëlla and her previous mate August earlier, only ten survived. Following August's fatal collision with a car on the N76 road in 2023, a five-kilometre wildlife fence was finally installed along that stretch.
Today, only two adult wolves are confirmed to be living in Flanders: Noëlla in Hechtel-Eksel and a female named Emma in the north of the province of Antwerp. In August, a new wolf was spotted in Bosland National Park in Hechtel-Eksel, but researchers have not yet determined whether it has settled there permanently.
#FlandersNewsService | © ARTERRA
Related News
