Just like a few weeks ago, new traces of a wild boar have been spotted in Brussels' Sonian forest this week. The animal is increasingly likely to turn up in Brussels.
The animal's tracks were spotted near the Chaussée de Waterloo and Drève Saint-Hubert, near the border with Flanders. They likely belong to a solitary animal, but forester Bram Bogaerts has hung up a wildlife camera to get more clarity. The wild boar in question is possibly 'Suske' – a lone boar that regularly used to turn up in the Brussels part of the forest a few years ago.
While they are a rarity in the Capital Region, several groups of boars are known to not live far from the capital. "In the arboretum of Tervuren, for example, there is a family," biologist Olivier Beck of Environment Brussels told Bruzz. "Perhaps these are the animals that were also once filmed on the central reservation of Avenue de Tervueren, in the Brussels-Captial Region."
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While they may look fierce and big and seem to come straight from the savannah, they are also very shy and you hardly get to see them, said mammals expert at Natuurpunt Sanne Ruyts. "The animals are also nocturnal and are usually napping in the bushes during the day."
There is a real chance that more wild boar will turn up in the Sonian Forest in the future, experts believe. "Throughout Flanders, the population is still growing and there is plenty of room in the Sonian Forest," Ruyts said. "In the ecosystem of the forest, there is enough room for wild boar. It is mainly in gardens and residential areas that they can become a problem. But we are not there yet."
