A ‘problem wolf’ called Bram is believed to have attacked and dragged a six-year-old child into wood at a nature reserve in the Netherlands as authorities hunt the predator
A six-year-old child has been attacked by a wolf and dragged into woods in front of his horrified mum.
The youngster had been playing at a nature reserve near Austerlitz, Utrecht, when the wolf pounced and left him with severe bite wounds requiring stitches. After being dragged into woods, two men rushed to help and fought off the animal with sticks to free the boy.
It is the latest in a long list of wolf attacks and it is believed to have been carried out by a “problem wolf” given the number GW3237m with the rogue animal nicknamed Bram. He has also been responsible for biting a girl and knocking over a toddler. It comes after a dead body is found in ‘underground ancient cave’ in popular UK beauty spot.
Mum Nynke, has told how she was with the six-year-old boy and his older brother when the wolf attacked in open ground near a Napoleon-era monument.
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“I thought it was a playful dog running towards us and thought ‘nice, I’ll go and play’,” she told RTV Utrecht. “But before I got there, I heard my eldest son screaming very loudly. He was jumped by the animal and dragged into the woods.”
She continued: “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. I’m very happy that I wasn’t alone with my two children.”
DNA has been taken to confirm that it was a wolf attack with attempts so far having failed to capture Bram. A court ruling has also given permission for rangers to shoot the wolf.
A spokesman for the Den Treek estate 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,” reported De Telegraaf on the wait for DNA proof.
On the capture of the wolf he added: “They haven’t succeeded yet, because the forest is extremely busy due to the holidays. Let’s hope the wolf is caught soon.” Currently people are being warned not to visit the nature reserve with young children and dogs.
Wolves have been spreading from east to west across rural areas of the Netherlands for years ever since arriving from Germany. The animals were officially confirmed as having returned in 2019, two centuries after being hunted to extinction, when a pair produced a litter of cubs.
While conservationists have welcomed the reappearance of a predator, wolves have been blamed for a string of attacks on livestock and have increasingly come close to members of the public.