A woman was bitten by a wolf in a shopping area in Hamburg, Germany, in what authorities believe may be the first recorded attack of its kind since wolves returned to the country in 1998.
The incident took place on Monday evening near the Altona station, west of the city centre. Emergency services said the woman was taken to hospital, although her condition has not been made public.
Police did not specify where on her body she was bitten, and the circumstances leading up to the attack remain unclear.
Following the incident, officers later located and removed a wolf from the Binnenalster lake in central Hamburg after receiving reports of sightings in the area. The animal was subsequently taken to an enclosure on the outskirts of the city, according to local media.
Authorities believe the wolf may be the same animal spotted over the weekend in Blankenese, an outer suburb of Hamburg. Experts have suggested it could be a young wolf that wandered into the city while searching for territory.
Officials noted that wolves typically avoid human contact and stressed that the urban environment would likely be highly stressful for the animal.
Germany’s Federal Agency for Nature Conservation said this is believed to be the first documented case of a wild wolf attacking a person in the country since their reintroduction nearly 30 years ago.
The return of wolves to Germany has previously sparked debate, particularly among farmers over livestock attacks. In response, the European Parliament last year voted to downgrade their protection status, while Germany has also moved to ease rules allowing wolves to be shot in cases involving livestock harm.
