The local branch of the Danish Nature Conservation Association went ahead with a planned evening nature walk in Råbjerg Hede on Thursday, days after a wolf confronted a runner in the neighboring Bunken Klitplantage.
The walk took place in the protected area of Råbjerg Hede in North Jutland, which borders Bunken Klitplantage. Authorities have advised against entering part of the plantation and have put up warning signs. According to reporting by DR, the local branch chose to proceed after discussing the authorities’ announcements.
Walk leader Eigil Torp-Olesen told DR that participants would stay at least 500 meters from the area covered by the warning at all times. He said the event was about the protected landscape and not a wolf walk. He also said the incident should not make people afraid of using nature areas.
The warnings followed a video that spread quickly last week. It shows a runner face to face with an adult wolf and a wolf pup in Bunken Klitplantage. The adult animal bares its teeth and raises the hair on its neck.
Styrelsen for Grøn Arealomlægning og Vandmiljø states that the adult wolf was protecting the pup in that way. The agency asks the public to avoid the affected part of the plantation until the situation has been assessed further. Politiken reported the same advice from the agency.
Experts see no danger
Experts from DCE at Aarhus University and the Natural History Museum Aarhus judged that the encounter was not dangerous, per Politiken. According to that assessment, the wolf’s behavior was aimed at driving the runner away from the pup. BT reported that the animal cannot be classified as a problem wolf and therefore should not be shot.
As reported by TV 2, the runner is Brian Johansen, who filmed the encounter himself. That reporting states the wolf came within a few meters and that experts treated the behavior as a warning rather than an attack. Nordjyske reported that the meeting happened in Bunken, south of Skagen, and described it as a sign of a growing wolf population.
DR reported that the branch weighed the walk against the official warnings before deciding to hold it. Torp-Olesen said the recent events involving wolves in the area may have created extra interest in the evening’s event. He added that seeing the wolf at a suitable distance would be a plus for many participants.
The route ran through Råbjerg Hede, the nature area that adjoins Bunken Klitplantage. The runner met the wolf and its pup in the plantation on Friday, according to DR. The agency’s advice against entering part of that area remains in place while the situation is assessed.
