A wolf was seen wandering close to the family restaurant Den Gyldne Pande north of Nørre Nebel in West Jutland on Monday evening, while authorities were searching the area for a so-called problem wolf.
DR reports that chef and owner Per Buur Ørskov Frederiksen was cooking for guests when panic broke out in the dining area. One of the restaurant’s young waiters came running and told him a wolf was standing out by the bouncy castle.
According to DR, Frederiksen went out to the road and got within about five meters of the animal, which appeared completely unbothered. He said his immediate thought was that no children should come to harm.
The restaurant lies a few kilometers from Nørre Nebel, inside the new regulation zone that the Ministry for Nature and Animal Welfare established last week. Within that zone, Naturstyrelsen will attempt to shoot the wolf classified as a problem wolf.
Nørre Nebel is in West Jutland, close to the North Sea coast and its nature areas. The incident came shortly after authorities deployed drones in the search for the wolf, DR notes.
Regulation zone runs until October 1
Per a statement from Styrelsen for Grøn Arealomlægning og Vandmiljø, the zone was created after several episodes in which a wolf showed a lack of fear of humans. The agency states that Naturstyrelsen may use a drone to locate the animal, and that the permit is valid until October 1.
The same agency notes that private individuals may also apply for permission to regulate the wolf inside the zone. As reported by Berlingske, the search is being carried out with a heat-seeking drone.
Berlingske also reports that the wolf had entered private gardens around Nørre Nebel in at least three cases less than a week earlier. The outlet adds that the agency had not found the animal after Friday’s search, and that no new sightings had been reported since then.
Politiken reports that the earlier incidents involved children playing in private gardens. According to the paper, those episodes led to the creation of the zone where the wolf may be shot.
The Minister for Nature and Animal Welfare, Christian Rabjerg Madsen of the Social Democrats, has previously called it completely unacceptable that the wolf lacks shyness and actively seeks out people, DR notes.
The restaurant owner told DR that he is divided about the animal’s presence. He said he does not like it coming close to children, but that the wolf did not do anything, and that he has no firm view on whether it belongs in the area.
Naturstyrelsen states that it has not yet shot the problem wolf that was in the area last week.
