Roaming wolf driven to death on notorious ‘Dodenbaan’: « There must be an ecoduct quickly » (inland)

The report of a death wolf arrived just after 6 hours on Wednesday via Welcome Wolf vzw. Because several reports followed quickly, Frederik Thoelen from the Nature Aid Center went on site to see what was going on. « Around that hour it is often a wild boar that drove to death. Now it was effective about a wolf. The animal was bleeding out of the mouth but has no visible injuries for the rest. We couldn’t find any fractures either. »

Wanderer

With almost 100% certainty, the animal that was hit is not a copy of the Limburg pack. « It is a young man. They are not there in the Limburg pack. In the course of previous night, a wolf was signaled and filmed in Lommelstraat in Lutlommel. We assume that this animal was on the Dool. »

The fact that young wolves roam around at the end of May is not abnormality. « Wolves leave the pack between their 1st and 2nd year of life. Sometimes they are roaming around for months to find a new residential area. But what is striking is that a wolf on the North -South (N74) has been driven to death. From in Helchteren to Overpelt, this is unfortunately the ‘deadlife’. It must be done.

Ecoraster or duct

The INBO recommends that the N74 recommends displacing measures, but the decision for this lies with the Agency for Roads and Traffic.

The intention was that Ecorasters would be introduced on the N74 on the dangerous points in 2024. Only they are not there yet. There are plans for one ecoduct To be built at the redesign of the Noord-Zuid (N715) in Houthalen-Helchteren.

« In the meantime, as far as I know, 7 wolves have already driven to death on the north-south. Four on the N74 and another three in line, on the N715. We had constructive conversations with the people of roads and traffic, department Limburg. Promises were made to place those ecorasters. Only they were still not there. A few poles were able to prevent this accident, » Jan Loos from Welcome Wolf vzw responds. Loos does not want to pronounce at the moment whether the non -profit organization will take steps. « But the cabinet of the Flemish Minister for Mobility must take their responsibility. »

The cadaver of the wolf that was driven to death on Wednesday was first taken to the Natuurhulpcentrum for a superficial investigation. Later it moves to the lab of the Institute of Nature and Forest Research (Inbo) in Geraardsbergen for a detailed autopsy.

In the meantime it is still waiting for the first images of a Noëlla that no longer walks around with a pregnant belly and/or of the cubs of 2025. So far there is no news about that.