RapportFondation 2025 V02 EN light - Flipbook - Page 56
Supporting SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
2024 REPORT
BELGIUM
ON THE wolf’s trail:
UNDERSTANDING THE PAST TO ENVISION THE FUTURE
AMOUNT COMMITTED TO DATE: €1,500
2024 > PRESENT
At the University of Namur, an exciting research project is
examining the history of wolves in Wallonia in the 18th and
19th centuries. By looking to the past, it seeks to learn more
about the historical role of the wolf within our landscape and
in our society, in order to shed light on the topical questions
raised by its return to our forests.
To carry out this unique investigation, the researchers combine
several disciplines: history, exploring the archives to unearth
the policies introduced in the late 18th century to regulate
wolves; paleogenetics, with DNA analysis of naturalised wolves
preserved in Walloon museums; and lastly ethology, through
the observation of the morphological characteristics of these
specimens. The Pairi Daiza Foundation actively supports this
approach by helping to fund these valuable genetic studies.
By combining past and present, the project teaches us more about the mechanisms that led to the wolf’s disappearance,
as well as the conditions for its return. It offers a nuanced, documented and accessible perspective on an emotive
subject that continues to raise concerns. At a time when the wolf is gradually rediscovering its place in our landscape,
this research provides valuable guidance on how humans and animals can coexist in the same territory.
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