A wolf bit and injured a woman in Hamburg, police said late Monday, a rare encounter with the normally shy species.
The attack happened near an Ikea about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the city center. After the incident the wolf moved toward the Binnenalster lake and entered the water, where officers captured it using a snare.
Authorities said the animal had probably been moving through the city since at least Saturday. Multiple sightings—thought to be of the same wolf—were reported across Hamburg, from a suburban rail stop to a neighborhood about 11 kilometers from the attack site.
According to the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, this is the first recorded wolf attack on a human in Germany since wolves returned in the late 1990s. Wolves were absent from Germany for roughly 150 years after being hunted to extinction by the early 20th century. They began to reappear around 1998, migrating west from Poland into eastern Germany, helped by conservation protections and expanding habitats. Their return has been praised as a conservation success but has also caused tension, particularly with farmers worried about livestock losses.
Last week the upper house of Germany’s parliament approved legislation to make it easier to hunt wolves. The European Union downgraded wolves from “strictly protected” to “protected” in a vote last year.
Experts stress that attacks on people are exceedingly rare. Healthy wolves generally avoid humans and flee if they encounter them. A study by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research found that most incidents are linked to rabies, provocation, or habituation—when animals lose their natural fear of people, often after being fed or finding food near settlements.
Environmental authorities believe the Hamburg wolf was a young dispersing animal, a life stage in which wolves can travel long distances seeking territory. Disoriented by the dense urban environment, it likely wandered into the city by accident while trying to find a way out. The wolf has been taken to a wildlife park.
Since 2013, Hamburg has recorded 21 confirmed wolf sightings. Most recently, a wolf was found dead in mid-March after being struck by a vehicle.
Edited by: Rob Turner