If you pay attention, you will see them everywhere: elephant trails. The short roads arise when many people walk over them, for example to cut a piece. But more and more such trails are also appearing in vulnerable nature areas.
“The problem is that such an elephant path goes straight through nature,” says dune keeper Gino Daamen in the Haagse Duinen. Broadcaster West. “It is now breeding season and many fawns are being born. We want nature to have as much rest as possible during this period, so we cannot use people who walk straight through everything.”
Daamen attributes the many new elephant trails to the large flow of visitors seeking entertainment within the corona measures. “It was always an acceptable problem. Previously we managed to solve the problem, but now it is mop with the tap open.”
Hikers deviating from the beaten track isn’t the only problem forest rangers face. Nature managers had already raised the alarm about abandoned waste, stray dogs and incorrectly parked cars.
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