Six-year-old boy ‘attacked by wolf' in Dutch nature reserve
The child, aged six, was with his mother and younger brother walking on open ground near a Napoleon-era monument in the Dutch province of Utrecht when they saw what they thought was a dog.
'I thought it was a playful dog running towards us and thought 'nice, I'll go and play',' said the boy's mother, Nynke, 41. 'But before I got there, I heard my eldest son screaming very loudly. He was jumped by the animal and dragged into the woods.'
• Dutch told to keep dogs on lead or risk a wolf attack (and a fine)
Passers-by in the popular Den Treek nature reserve intervened and rescued the boy. 'There were two men with big sticks who beat the animal and eventually they got it off my son. I was in a state of total panic and grief,' his mother said. 'I'm very happy that I wasn't alone with my two children.'
The child suffered bite wounds, which needed stitches, scratches and abrasions on his back and near his armpit.
Mike, the boy's father, who was not present when the attack took place, said: 'We both feel a sense of how lucky we were. It's not like we were going for a walk deep in the woods where no one normally goes.'
Suspicion has fallen on a rogue wolf, nicknamed Bram, officially designated GW3237m, which has attacked people and dogs in the area. There has been a spate of incidents over the past year involving the wolf, including a girl being bitten and a toddler being knocked over.
There are at least nine wolf packs in the Netherlands and the animals are protected
MANUEL ROMARIS/GETTY IMAGES
There are questions over why the wolf is still at large when local courts gave rangers permission to shoot the predator in July. The attack has not been officially confirmed as a wolf incident until DNA analysis is carried out, but the reserve is not taking any chances.
A spokesman said: 'Let's face it, it probably wasn't a rabbit and this is the umpteenth incident so I don't want to wait for that.' The reserve has put up warning signs 'strongly urging people not to visit the area with children or dogs'.
There are at least nine wolf packs in the Netherlands after they crossed from Germany in 2015. The species is protected under EU and national law.
Figures released in June showed that the number of wolf attacks on sheep and other livestock has never been higher. In the first three months of this year, 368 attacks on animals were recorded, compared with 266 the year before.
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