Wild boar spotted for the first time in Brussels park
For the first time, a wild boar has been spotted in Woluwe Park. The Brussels environment agency confirmed the news following a report from a local resident. It’s believed the animal was probably passing through. "It probably came to have a bite to eat in the park," explains Stéphane Vanwijnsberghe of the Brussels environment agency.
A local resident filmed the wild boar in the park around 6.20AM this morning and posted the video on Facebook. He also reported it to the Brussels environment agency.
"We think it’s a wild boar passing through, perhaps from the Tervuren Arboretum or the Sonian Wood nearby. It will not stay in the park," explains Vanwijnsberghe. His team is checking the animal's tracks today to discover whether it is an adult or young boar and whether it is male or female. "Very likely it came to eat in the park, beechnuts, acorns or mushrooms," he said.
"There is no cause for concern," says Vanwijsberghe. That should reassure some dog owners from around the park, who were about to seek advice from environment agency on how to behave when they suddenly meet a wild boar.
It is the first sighting of a wild boar in Woluwe Park, says Vanwijnsberghe, but in recent years there have been similar reports in Oudergem and elsewhere in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe in the Brussels Region. "These are always covert observations of animals that do not stay on the spot," Vanwijnsberghe notes.
However, the number of wild boars in both Walloon and Flemish Brabant has been increasing in recent years. "That is in line with a general increase in the wild boar population throughout Europe. We have to wait and see how that continues to evolve in Brussels."