Until January 9, the Lille Natural History Museum is devoting an exhibition to the wolf, an animal that risks making its return to Hauts-de-France more quickly than expected.
In Belgium, two couples settled down and had babies, in 2021.
In the region, only four wolf sightings have been formalized, so far.
That's it, the wolf is at the gates of Hauts-de-France. We see him again all over France and in recent weeks, some naturalists have agreed that his return to the region is only a matter of time, maybe even a few months, only. This forecast is based on the discovery of areas with a permanent presence of wolves and two pairs fixed in Belgian Flanders and in Wallonia.
The northern naturalist, Vincent Gavériaux, gave a conference on the subject at the Lille Natural History Museum in December.
“In Wallonia, it is a male who first settled in the Hautes Fagnes, in 2018, before being joined by a female in 2020,” he says.
In this rather wild sector, located between Liège and the German border, the couple reproduced in June 2021 to give birth to three cubs.
Identification of 21 different wolves in Wallonia
According to the Walloon region and the Belgian association Natagora (which brings together more than 25,000 naturalists), another lone wolf, named Billy, has also settled in this sector. "In Wallonia, 21 different wolves have been identified thanks to genetic analyzes," notes Vincent Gavériaux. According to regional authorities, this presence of the wolf is certainly underestimated because more than a thousand reports have been identified, 189 of which actually correspond to the animal. "
In Belgian Flanders, too, we see the wolf coming back.
After many adventures, a couple also established themselves in the north of the region, near Maastricht, on military ground.
“It is a wolf from Germany with a radio collar who arrived first in 2017. Two years later, we saw her pregnant, then carrying food to feed her young.
Then, more news, before finding her dead with her wolf cubs, killed on purpose.
Suspects have been arrested, ”explains Vincent Gavrériaux.
However, the male was not widowed for very long.
He was joined in 2020 by another female, Noëlla.
The latter also gave birth to five cubs, two of which died very quickly.
A third was found dead, hit by a car, on November 16.
Crossroads of migrations
“It is not a surprise to see the wolf settle in Belgium, notes Vincent Gavériaux.
The country is at the crossroads of migrations from Italy and wolves from Germany.
Wolves being animals that move a lot and quickly, all these young Cubs are likely to seek new territories in the coming years.
And in Hauts-de-France, certain corners are suitable for its establishment: Avesnois, for example, or certain areas of Artois where deer proliferate.
According to the Biodiversity Observatory (OFB), only four observations have been certified in the region, so far: two in the Somme, one in the Aisne and one in the Oise.
But around 20 reports were taken seriously.
Exhibition at the Lille Natural History Museum
The fact remains that the return of the animal still causes a lot of excitement, as evidenced by three cattle attacks in Pas-de-Calais, in November 2019. “The OFB had finally concluded that it could not be the work of the wolf ”, underlines Vincent Gavériaux.
While waiting to cross his path one day, we can discover this great predator in the exhibition
Ni méchant, ni gentil
which is dedicated to him, until January 9, at the Natural History Museum in Lille.
Perhaps we will learn how the animal can coexist with the puma.
You know, the one that was seen two months ago at the border between the Somme and Pas-de-Calais and which has since vanished.
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Biodiversity
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