Wolf Attacks Surge in Belgium’s Verviers Region
A series of wolf attacks has multiplied in recent weeks across the Verviers region of eastern Belgium, with investigators suspecting that a single, unusually bold she-wolf is responsible. One sheep farmer has seen his flock targeted nineteen times, according to RTBF, raising fresh questions about how Wallonia balances the return of a protected predator against the interests of livestock farmers.
The attacks are attributed to a pack established in the Hautes Fagnes massif — and to one particular she-wolf described as voracious and little afraid of humans. “The Verviers region and its surroundings are indeed affected by a new territory in the north-west of the Hautes Fagnes massif, a relatively small territory, with a she-wolf that has unfortunately taken up habits of leaving the woods and roaming the suburbs where there are quite a few small flocks of sheep near homes,” said Alain Licoppe, coordinator of the Walloon Wolf Network (Réseau Loup wallon).
A New Territory on the Edge of the Woods
The territory in question is a recently confirmed permanent wolf presence zone known as “ZPP Ardenne liégeoise,” defined in June 2026 between Spa, Stavelot and Stoumont — and to a lesser degree Theux. As RTBF reported, the zone corresponds to the territory of a female wolf, GW4968f, that arrived from the neighbouring Hautes-Fagnes Sud pack and has been established for more than six months. It covers a little over 11,000 hectares.
The small size of the territory helps explain the friction. With limited wild range, the she-wolf appears to be straying out of the forest and into suburban areas where small sheep flocks are kept close to homes — a departure from the behaviour of most Walloon wolves, which generally remain wary of people.
An Unprecedented Year for Attacks
The Verviers incidents are part of a broader, sharper increase in wolf predation across Wallonia. According to La Libre / Belga, attacks on livestock have risen sharply since late June, almost exclusively targeting sheep and sometimes goats, concentrated in the communes of Nassogne and Tenneville, in Luxembourg province. “A number we have never known in Wallonia,” Licoppe said, peaking in August and September.
The province of Luxembourg is home to two wolf packs: one in the Anlier forest, with a pair and eight cubs, and another in the Saint-Hubert forest, with a pair and five cubs. The latter may be responsible for most of the recent attacks, with the network suggesting the animals must feed their pups regularly and may treat surrounding pastures and villages as part of their hunting territory. Even so, experts stressed that these wolves “remain fearful of humans” and are being monitored closely.
Behavioural transmission is a key factor. Wolf packs pass on hunting habits to their young: in Anlier, DNA analysis shows wolves descended from a pack that prefers wild prey and rarely attacks livestock, whereas the Saint-Hubert wolves descend from a line that targets livestock almost systematically.
A New Plan for a New Reality
Wallonia is preparing a new wolf management plan, “Plan Loup 2026-2030,” to be adopted by the end of the year at the latest. The 2020 plan, officials acknowledge, was written for a Wallonia without packs. “The 2020 plan was written for a Wallonia without packs. Today, seven territories are occupied. We need to change the logic,” said Walloon Minister of Agriculture Anne-Catherine Dalcq, as reported by RTBF.
Under the new plan, protection aid and compensation would no longer depend on a geographic zone — a response to cases such as a recent attack at La Roche-en-Ardenne that fell just outside a permanent presence zone and therefore outside the aid. A simplified compensation procedure is also being drafted. The new plan contemplates non-lethal scare measures: nighttime patrols, spotlights and sound devices, and if those prove insufficient, scare shots using blanks or rubber bullets.
“We are studying the possibility of scaring the wolf off by patrolling at night, using spotlights and sound elements to frighten it when it approaches homes too closely,” Licoppe said. For repeat offenders preying on protected flocks, the minister said intervention must be possible — within the limits of European law.
The wolf remains a protected species in Wallonia, and the tension between conservation and farming is unlikely to ease as the population grows. At least 31 cubs were counted across the region in 2026 alone.
What to Watch For
Several questions remain open. It is not yet clear whether DNA analysis will confirm the Verviers she-wolf as the culprit, nor how many of the nineteen incidents are confirmed wolf predations rather than suspected ones. Whether the Plan Loup 2026-2030 will include actual intervention provisions — and whether any lethal measure could comply with the EU Habitats Directive — is also unresolved.
For now, the fearless she-wolf stands as an exception in a wolf population that has otherwise kept its distance from people. How Wallonia manages that exception could shape the next chapter of the predator’s return to one of Europe’s most densely populated regions.