Police are investigating a suspected wolf attack on a dog at the weekend in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug national park near Leusden, in Utrecht.

The dog’s owner told police he was walking his dog, which was on a leash, when what he thought was a wolf attacked his dog and made off with it. It is not known what breed the dog is.

Wolf expert Glenn Lelieveld the incident was regrettable but not surprising. “This type of attack happens every so often abroad as well,” he told broadcaster NOS. Lelieveld said that deadly encounters between wolves and dogs that run loose are not uncommon.

The attack is the first such incident to be reported in the province since the wolf returned to the Netherlands in 2015 after an absence of some 145 years.

There are currently nine known wolf packs in the Netherlands, but according to research by Wageningen University, that could grow to between 23 and 56, depending on how fast they procreate.

Seven of the packs are in the Veluwe region, two in Drenthe and two on the border between Drenthe and Friesland. There have also been confirmed sightings in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug area, where the dog was attacked.