A woman was bitten by a wolf on a busy shopping street in Hamburg, according to German authorities.
The unusual incident happened on Monday evening on Grosse Bergstrasse in the Altona district, near an inner-city Ikea. The animal, which appeared disoriented, was approached by the woman as she tried to guide it away from the crowded area.
According to reports, the wolf bit her on the face before running off.
She was taken to hospital for treatment and has since been discharged.
Officials believe this could be the first wolf attack on a person in Germany since the species began returning to the country decades ago.
“There has not been a case like this since the reintroduction began in 1998,” a spokesperson for the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation told the German press agency dpa.
Later that night, the wolf was spotted in Hamburg’s Binnenalster lake. Police pulled it out of the water using a rope, though the animal resisted capture, with officers reportedly taking about an hour to secure it.
Authorities say the wolf is now safe and receiving veterinary care.
Matthias Hilge, a spokesperson for Hamburg’s Ministry for the Environment, said there had been several sightings of the animal in recent days in the west of the city. Officials will decide what happens next in consultation with experts.
Wolves began returning to Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, following around 150 years of absence. Since then, populations have spread across several regions, with animals initially migrating from Poland.
The incident comes shortly after Germany approved new measures allowing controlled wolf hunting to manage populations and protect livestock.
Under federal law, the hunting season will run from 1 July to 31 October.
Despite this, Environment Minister Carsten Schneider emphasized the importance of coexistence.
“It is not a question of driving the wolf away again, but of finding viable ways to live peacefully alongside it,” he said.