Dutch wolf population growing: 131 wolves detected in latest DNA study

The number of wolves in the Netherlands seems to keep rising. DNA analysis last year detected 131 individual wolves, including 79 “new” ones whose DNA had not previously been recorded in the country. These findings come from BIJ12, the organization responsible for wolf management across the provinces.

DNA analysis in 2024 identified 101 wolves, comprising a mix of newly detected animals and ones already known.

Among the new wolves, 70 percent are born to Dutch wolf groups, while most of the rest have migrated from Germany. The Netherlands is home to roughly 14 wolf packs, and the Wolf Reporting Center confirmed last year that ten of these packs had pups.

BIJ12 reported in September that the Netherlands now has 13 wolf groups, up from 11 in a report published in June of the previous year. Two new packs were discovered in Drenthe: the Middenveld pack in Midden-Drenthe and the Zuid-Drentse pack in Westerveld. Additionally, a group was identified just east of the Gelderse Vallei-Noord, slightly beyond the Noordwest-Veluwe border.

BIJ12 notes that the exact number of wolves in the Netherlands cannot be determined, as they cover large distances, often leave no signs, and frequently cross the country’s borders.

Wolves returned to the Netherlands in 2015 after roughly 150 years of absence. In 2018, one settled in the Veluwe, and by 2019, the first wolf pair had established a territory in the country.

Originally from Germany, they had pups that year, and offspring continued to be born in their Noord-Veluwe territory for several years. BIJ12 confirmed the pair’s presence again in 2025, noting it as remarkable: both wolves are now at least 8 to 9 years old, while wild wolves typically live around six years.

Since 2015, DNA analysis has confirmed the presence of 259 individual wolves in the Netherlands. More than half (56 percent) were born in the country, 18 percent came from Germany, and 6 percent from Belgium, while the origins of the rest remain unknown.

BIJ12 has documented 81 wolf deaths since 2015, 29 of which occurred in 2025. Aside from road accidents, inter-pack competition is the leading cause of death. Maurice La Haye of the Mammal Society explains: “Every pack has its own territory. When an outsider enters, it is driven out, and if it cannot get away, it may be killed.”