Dog owner says wolf attacked pet while it was on a leash

Police are investigating a suspected wolf attack on a dog over the weekend in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park near Leusden in Utrecht.

The dog owner told police that he was walking his dog on a leash when a wolf attacked and took him away. It is unknown what breed of dog he is.

Wolf expert Glenn Lelieveld regretted the incident, but said it did not surprise him. “Such attacks occur again and again abroad too,” he told broadcaster NOS. Fatal encounters between wolves and free-roaming dogs are not uncommon, said Lelieveld.

The attack is the first reported incident of its kind since the wolf returned to the Netherlands in 2015 after an absence of about 145 years.

There are currently nine known wolf packs in the Netherlands, but research by Wageningen University suggests that this number could rise to 23 to 56, depending on how quickly the animals reproduce.

Seven of the packs are located in the Veluwe region, two in Drenthe and two on the border between Drenthe and Friesland. There are also confirmed sightings in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug area, where the dog was attacked.