At least one wolf has been spotted close to the German border with the Netherlands and was captured on two separate automatic cameras.

The wolf was photographed at Meppen and Nordhorn two weeks apart and it is not clear if it is the same animal on both pictures, news agency ANP says. The cameras were set up by local hunters.

The distance from Meppen to the Dutch border is just 25 km and it is less than 10 from Nordhorn to the Netherlands.

Last July a dead wolf was found on a roadside in Flevoland. Experts later concluded it had probably been dumped there as a prank.

Protected

Last month the government announced the wolf will be a protected species when it returns to live in the Netherlands.

Wolf colonies have been moving closer to the Netherlands, so the cabinet has decided to get ready for its eventual arrrival, junior minister Sharon Dijksma said.

The wolf will have legally protected status which means farmers will receive compensation from a special fund if livestock are attacked and killed.

However, wolves which react agressively to people or dogs will be ‘removed’, the minister said.