A blind woman in the Netherlands scared off a wolf when it attempted to attack her guide dog.
In an encounter that has intensified concerns about public safety as the country's wolf population continues to grow, Marloes Schaap said she sensed something was wrong when her guide dog began growling.
"He never does that to other dogs; he's very sociable," she told Dutch public broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting.
With only limited vision, she said she tried to keep the animal in sight. "I could see it had four legs, a tail and upright ears, because they stood out against the forest, so to speak," she said. "That's how I could distinguish it."
Ms Schaap said the animal then ran towards them, getting as close as seven metres. "He kept staring at us. I started shaking really badly. And crying. You get a physical reaction; you can't help it. I was aware that this animal is faster and stronger than us, and he'll close that distance to my dog, Toto, in a second."
Ms Schaap said she eventually scared the animal away by striking her cane hard against the ground. "Back away, make yourself big, make a racket. So I raised my cane high and slammed it hard on the pavement," she said.
The Dutch association for guide dog users said that the incident was not isolated, citing at least one previous confrontation between a wolf and a guide dog on the Veluwe, an area of natural parklands in the Netherlands just north of Arnhem.
Concerns are also being voiced more widely within the visually impaired community. Blind podcaster Ferry Molenaar has been producing a series on wolves and accessibility, and told NOS he has received dozens of messages from people who now avoid unfenced areas when walking their dogs.
The municipality of Ermelo, where the encounter occurred, is organising a meeting for blind and visually impaired people to discuss wolf safety.
Expanding wolf population fuelling concerns
The encounter has added fuel to a national debate over how the Netherlands should manage the apex predators' return. Wolves re-established themselves several years ago after being hunted to extinction more than a century ago and are now present in areas including the Veluwe, the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and parts of the north.
Their comeback was welcomed by conservationists, who celebrated footage in 2019 of the first wolf cubs born in the wild after animals began crossing into the Netherlands from Germany.
But the expanding population has also fuelled tensions, driven by livestock attacks, safety warnings in nature reserves and a small number of close encounters with people and pets. There have been no known fatal or serious attacks on humans.
Across Europe, wolf numbers are rising. The European Commission estimates there are about 23,000 wild wolves, with the population growing by 35 per cent between 2016 and 2023. Large populations roam countries including Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Greece and Bulgaria.
This month, authorities warned people to stay out of forests in parts of Utrecht province because of the behaviour of a wolf known locally as Bram. On Friday, officials confirmed the animal had been shot.
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