Wild wolves return to Belgium after 100 years, sparking controversy - BBC News 

cutting off that guy's answer at the end before he got to explaining that apex predators have important functions in ecosystems is trashy.

To be honest it's really cool to have wild wolves back in Europe.

The tragic thing is that us humans think we've more right to land and nature than the wild animals that live there. So much that people get upset when a wild species we wiped out in a place returns and start living there again.

Introducing wolves, or other predators is important for ecosystems to become resilients. A example is regulating the deer ovepopulation which stop forests from growing since they destroy young saplings.

I understand the genuine frustration of the farmers, it's a difficult situation. However, even as the son of ranchers, I would rather deal would wolf attacks than the outright, irreversible, extinction of them.

We've had them back in Denmark for a few years now, not big numbers but they range over the majority of the mainland. We've been farming here for 8 generations - a little more vigilance during calving but otherwise it's just incredible to know that we haven't totally destroyed the nature we live in, if they come - it's because they belong here.. They're better for the ecosystem than we are, so losing a weak calf or old sick cow (they don't take the first thing they see) does good for the genes and the herd. If we lost 5 or 10 in a season, maybe that perspective would change but 1 or 2 is worth it to see them, even just knowing they're there without seeing them.. Had a sea eagle announce its presence and sit on the barn for a bit - again, the experience is priceless and probably made me feel as connected to this place, as the 7 generations before me that I visit in the church overlooking us.

The introduction of 14 wolves to the yellow stone park not only increased the the abundance of life there, it changed the direction of the rivers. Wolves are dangerous, but so is not having them.

There are dog breeds that contain the word "shepherd" for a reason.

I'm from Belgium and I live on the edge of wolf territory. I have 2 horses and a pony and I'm happy the wolf is back. Lots off ppl with farm animals are looking for a way to live with wolves, but only the haters are heard in the media, because they are the agressive ones. Info sessions about how to live with wolves are canceled, because the haters say they will harm the speakers. Ppl from the wolve fencing teams get death treats. If I speak up for the wolves, I get hate on social media and ppl want me to lose my animals in an attack. Wolf fencing works, but many ppl don't do it right and blame the fence if it fails. Or you can put gard dogs among your farme animals, ppl do that all over the world when they live in wolf territory. It's sad to see how much airtime the no wolf ppl get, just because they shut up the pro wolf ppl with their agression toward us.

It was big news in Belgium when wolves were spotted 10-15 years ago. Most people thought they were lost and didn't think wolves would actually settle in Belgium, the same thing happened in the Netherlands.

Wolves have been around in the Netherlands as well, since 2019. A pack of nine wolves was spotted last month in NP De Veluwe.

Fantastic news! Natural predators are extremely important for our ecosystems and for far too long farmers have had the final say on whether animals like these are re-introduced into the wild or not. I hope these magnificent creatures are here to stay.

We have wolves for years in Poland, my town is surrounded by huge forests, and no one is afraid of wolves living there. They never attack first, rather run when seeing humans. I guess other people are more scary than wild animals.

I have friends who live in the mountains in Iran. They got a puppy to protect their house. Turns out the dog got friendly with a lone wolf and now the wolf comes back sometimes in winter just to play with his mate 😂 They got used to that.

We should bring them back to Britain, especially Scotland. Deer populations are far too high which hinders reforestation efforts.

I'm glad they're back. They're an important part of the ecosystem, ensuring only the strongest of small wild mammals survive. Yes they're going to affect livestock but we have the ability to mitigate that, it's a lot harder balance the ecosystem if a predator goes extinct

Wild boars and hogs cause immense damage to land when they’re rooting for food and will eat anything they think is edible. Wolves will help keep the balance

Welcome back!

Need these fabulous creatures in Westminster 👍🏻

Feel sorry for the farmers but this is their natural land, not farm animals.

good wolves return to there homelands❤

There are things such as wolf proof fences. He just doesn’t want to spend the money. However the government could do a better job of offering subsidies to farmers/ranchers to build those fences. There is a solution but someone has to pay for it.

This is beautiful I wish more wild animals would return to their natural habitat More wolves and bears should be in Europe 🙂🙂✌️💚💚

Farmers : Let's use chemicals and pesticides by the tonnes! Also Farmers : Wolf bad for us!

WOLVES! WOLVES! WOLVES!

If they stop encroaching on wild land, strengthen their fencing (electric or taller etc), and allow for nature to bring back a missing link… There will be a return of other species and flora/fauna. In the US they even discovered that wolves adjusted other prey species migration and eating habits; ultimately changing where creeks and rivers flowed.

I love how the reporter portrays the wild boar killing as if it was a tragic thing when in reality, boars, red and roe deer are main the natural prey of wolves in europe. Boar themselves can have a strong negative impact on the ecosystem when their natural predators (wolves) aren't present to limit their numbers and scare them. Of course, boars, like every native species, also play an important role in the wild ecosystems of europe, spreading seeds, turning the soil and creating holes in the ground that other smaller species need to feed or grow but if they themselves are not food for their predators, they can become extremely damaging for native rare plants, birds that nest on the ground, some insects, etc. The irony is that boars are often accused of being destructive towards human crops and lawns so hunters say they need to kill them to keep them in check but as soon as a wolf does their job, it's painted as savage and cruel and need to be exterminated. If we want to be able to coexist with native species and have healthier wildlife around us of future generations, we need to tolerate big animals and predators such as wolves and help the people that deal with these species with strong financial and logistical support so that they can live alongside them. It's extremely easy to do, especially in rich european countries. The sad reality is that money isn't distributed where it should and the wrong people (and animals) get the blame.

That’s such good news that the wolves are back!

I loved the researcher's answer at the end.

1:53 maybe these farmers complaining about insufficient compensation need to actually protect their lifestock a bit. if fences are not working on wolves or too expensive then perhaps a large herding/shepherd dog like a *kangal* might prove useful

Bring back more of the earth's wild creatures!

The farmers just need to go back to the old methods of flock protection. Donkeys are very good as guard dogs for sheep, as are llama/alpaca. Then there is a the good old fashioned method of keeping a shepherd with the flock.

That's wonderful, they're such a vital part of our European ecosystem.

Wolves were an important part of their ecosystems in the past and their reintroduction into their traditional habitats will even up the balance. I understand the problems faced by farmers, and pet owners, but humans have encroached on wild animal habitats to the detriment of our environment.

This is fantastic news

There are so many wild rabbits (it's practically an invasion) here in Belgium that food won't be a problem. As for farmers, YES build a better fence and keep a couple of guard dogs! It's that easy!

Dude had no answer when she said build a better fence lol

It's great. We have to realise that we need to share this planet with other life. Can't have everything our own way.

Wolves 🐺 taking back their lands i believe is beautiful.

„These evasive creatures“? What the heck? The wolves were long here before the humans!! Humans are the actual evasive species!!

Screw the controversy, these things are cool as hell

If my Siberian Husky can hop an 8 foot fence then so can a hungry wolf

As a zoologist, it's so refreshing and positive to see in the comments how many people know of the benefits of wolves within the wider landscape, for biodiversity and carbon sequestration! I hope one day to see wild wolves back in the UK in my lifetime. In terms of the farmer and recompansation, this requires further research. I believe that in healthy ecosystems with sufficient prey pools, livestock predation should remain relatively low. Farmers could mitigate losses further through adopting several anti-predation techniques that are used globally, some are novel innovations and some are ancient. One of which includes livestock guardians (such as dogs or donkeys). The fact of the matter is, we need apex predators, so we must learn to co-exist with them.

Welcome back buddies I hope you enjoy your stay

It’s great news to have them back! What’s important is to organise ways to connect with farmers and to understand and help each other instead of splitting us up. We need more videos of both sides together instead of them split up.

Yup same story in the everglades with the panther.

You are so lucky to see wolf's in the wild

Awah yeas...I was wondering what that Belgium howling sound was 😂🤣 I liked this video yes!!!!👍😅

We've had wild wolves in Poland since forever and they have not attacked a single person in 100 years, we also have a record number of wild European bison's

I saw one yesterday in a bush near my house in the Netherlands. It scared the crap out of me.

Surely there must be a means for both humans and wolves to coexist. The wolves have the right to return, after all they were there long before humans started reducing their numbers.

Over here we have the close relative of the wolf, the Politicus Lupus, who preys on the hard working honest citizen. They’re mostly a pest, and almost nobody wants them, but they are very resilient.

❤️❤️🙏🙌

There is a film that covers this exact topic. It’s called “How Wolves change Rivers”. It’s one done by Richard Attenborough. It answers perfectly why this happening should be celebrated as a huge success!!

If farmers can find away to protect livestock, then wolves will drive down the invasive wild boar population, which would be very beneficial. Canada and US have huge wolf and coy-wolf populations and manage to have successful agriculture too. In fact, we reintroduce wolves wherever they are missing in the ecosystem. It’s all about balance.

Feel like its about balance and time since extinction. If the wolves provide some ecological benefit then its worth to have them back, but if its been long enough that their role is no longer needed, then you'll just have them hunting livestock to survive.

It doesn't have to revolve around us selfish humans, so true ❤

Good playmates for your kids on country jaunts.

People are more important than the environment for some

I wish we had them in Britain

What episode of wolf pack is this?

Very cool!

The Yellowstone National Park is an interesting example of how Wolves positively affect their environment. For sure politics will come into it in more populated areas. But wolves are a needed part of the ecosystem. Here’s an interesting video on it- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ysa5OBhXz-Q.html

A heartwarming news

The farmer is wrong when it comes to wolf protective fences, in Denmark vi have so far had NO wolf attacks on life stock that has been behind wolf protective fences, so long as they were monitored and kept the way they should. Facts and education is needed instead of ignorance.

At the end of the day, nature always wins.

Brilliant. We need them back in the UK. They will keep the deer numbers down.

I read a lot of the comments here. But people seem to be unreasonably ignoring the farmers plights. Keeping sheep does not make a lot of money, having even a small portion of sheep lost to wolves can be detrimental to some farmers. The regulators should be doing more. Increasing compensation to a reasonable amount, or better, setting up a fund that will help pay for sheep protection methods (such as electrified hard fencing or flock guard animals) should be done.

I love Belgium

There are parts of b.c. canada wolf's have been seen which haven't been seen in 50 years crazy

My Spirit Animal Wolf 🐺😍

In the U.S. it has led to healthier ecosystems. Wild Boars are more dangerous than wolves.

We need to get planting trees in Scotland and get wolves back here. There is plenty of space for them and there are wild deer packs for them to hunt. I'm sure money can be raised to partly refund farmers for any losses. But farming is frankly a tiny part of our economy and eco-tourism can be far higher and the need to protect our nation into the future from global warming also matters.

C'est positif parce que ça nous enrichit. Quand on se promène en forêt et qu'on croise une faune variée, c'est formidable.

I agree.

Fabulous love it. Nature is immense.

We always had wild wolves in Bulgaria.

every farmer seems to have forgotten that shepards and guard dogs were created for this exact purpose

This Earth doesnt belong to us, we have to learn to share it with other creatures or suffer the repercussions from it.

sounds like wolves can take care of the wild boar issues. nice!

Let them be! Just make sure the insurance companies pay the real amount of compensations for eaten animals by wolfs.

Frankly, I'd rather have wolves sniffing around my house than some of the humans that live in this rural area. Won't happen in the UK, even in the wilds of Scotland, because we have the Landowners having the final say. They won't even let us have lynx, and large raptors seem to die in mysterious circumstances.

Great news.

That’s amazing

Oh poor human cant live beside nature. So sad.

They returned probably because they ran out of food.

I seem to remember that there was a big to-do from ranchers when they reintroduced the wolf back to Yellowstone.

Over here in canada the government provides you subsidies if your farm or livestock is affected by wild animals and we got wolves, fox , coyotes, wolverines , moose etc that do affect farmers Maybe introduce something like that

They returned to the Netherlands too. Much to the delight 😅 of sheep farmers and other animal lovers…

There are a lot of wild boars in that region, also rabbits, etc, so wolves are likely to find the proper quantities of food. The sheep can be protected, for example with those turkish dogs

I want the Aurochs back. The T bone steaks on those critters were awesome!

Holy shit we complain we don't have them we complain when we do, this world is fucked man.

Wolves are incredible.

Little chance of this happening in the uk , with half a million homes needing to be built every year...

How did they get to Belgium?

Animal agriculture is nearing its end anyway, most of it at least, due to it being a high emitter of green house gases and being ressource and water intensive. As for coexistence, those French and Belgian farmers complaining are a bit too spoiled, because Italian farmers for instance have been living with wolves fine for the most part. In areas where wolves disappeared, livestock owners have become used to being no threat to their animals, so they became lazy.

That farmer at min 2:03 can get some fences and some dogs and he'd be fine. I see no dogs around his sheep and not even a fence.

Hopefully the UK next. Farmers simply need to get better fences for their livestock. If a fence can stop a dog it can stop a wolf. Also, other countries have managed to coexist with wolves and even bears just fine, so people complaining here are just lazy.

To be perfectly blunt these majestic beasts were here before us humans so they deserve to be here more than us

Wolves and other large carnivores cool the climate. When there’s wolves in a forest then saplings can become trees and forests grow.