Wildlife in the city

Although quite populated, Belgium is also a natural area with wild animals. Foxes, weasels, rabbits, boars and others can be observed all over the country, especially in the Ardennes, but they can even be found in big cities like Brussels.

A census

In order to know which species going well, which ones need protection and which ones are dangerous or too invasive, a new census is organised by Natagora, Natuurpunt and Bruxelles Environnement. The idea is for locals to indicate when and where they see a wild mammal in Brussels. On their website, participants are invited to add pictures and data of what they observe on an atlas of the city. It is very useful information because the last census was 15 years ago and animal populations keep moving and changing in size.

Fluffy opportunist 

Red foxes can be found in the whole of Belgium, but they have become very common in Brussels, not only in the green areas like the Soigne forest, but also in the city center. It is actually a recent phenomenon because it wasn't the case 30 years ago. Fox families have come from Flemish rural zones and adapted to their new, urban environment. Some people might find them annoying because of their mating calls, which sound like a woman screaming (which is quite scary for such cute animals), usually heard in February, or because they may dig holes (earths) in people's gardens.

Nevertheless, be reassured, Belgian foxes are not dangerous at all. They don't fight with cats or dogs (they do hunt rats and mice though) and they never attack humans, being quite shy animals. More importantly, rabies is totally eradicated among foxes in Belgium, so there shouldn't be any risk. If you see them, be silent if you want to observe these beautiful animals, but never feed them as it could make them become lazy and invasive.

They're coming back!

Another animal was dealt with a lot in press recently, the wolf. After more than a century (when the last specimen was killed in Virton), populations of wolves are coming back to Belgium. It is not yet the case but it will happen, because some have been observed in recent years in the bordering countries (France, the Netherlands and Germany). This video showing was filmed in a Dutch city not far from Belgium:

Running fast, wolves can walk for around 200 km a day so it can't be difficult for them to cross the borders. Normally, they should greatly favour South-Eastern zones of the country, like the High Fens, less populated and covered with forests. Anyway, don't be scared, because wolves are scared of human beings!

The capital of rabbits and parrots

The city of Brussels is also a place for strange groupings of animals. If you take a walk in the city for a while, you will probably come across flocks of rabbits, for example around Brussels No(o)rd station. You might also hear high-pitched noises made by one of the 10 000 (or more) rose-ringed parrots (more specifically "parakeets"), exotic birds from tropical regions of Africa and Asia, who have settled in the capital, giving it a Latin feeling. This species is pretty rare in Walloon cities and I have no idea how they arrived there.

Don't mess up with these...

Wild boars aren't rare in Belgium although more discrete and for some people they are scary and/or annoying. These nervous swines are known for destroying people's garden and being a little agressive. I have personally never seen any in the wild, but two hikers got the fright of their life in a Belgian village and their video got viral:

Note that the ponies are not really chasing the wild boar out to save the hikers, but rather running around it as a game, probably...