In Hamburg, a wolf bit a woman in the Altona district. Police officers later caught the animal in an unusual location in the city center.
March 31, 2026, 4:57 amMarch 31, 2026, 4:57 am
A wolf bit and injured a woman in the Altona district of Hamburg. The police confirmed this to the dpa news agency. Officials were able to capture the animal in the city center late on Monday evening: At the pier on the Binnenalster, they pulled the wolf out of the water with a snare.
A spokesman for the situation center said that reports had previously been received from callers who had seen the animal there and in other places. The captured wolf was then transported away; The environmental authority is now responsible for the next steps.
A wolf bit a woman in Hamburg. (symbol image)Image: www.imago-images.de
The police initially did not provide any further information about how seriously the woman was injured or where exactly the bite hit her.
Wolf in Hamburg: Is it the same animal?
Whether it is the captured one Wolf in Hamburg It is not yet certain that it is the same animal that was spotted in several parts of the city over the weekend. A spokesman for the control center said that it was considered likely because it was not assumed that several of these animals were in the city area.
According to previous information from the environmental authority, several people had observed a wolf in Hamburg since Saturday. The animal was initially spotted in parks along the Falkensteiner Ufer in Blankenese, then later further east in the districts of Nienstedten and Othmarschen. Wolf expert Norman Stier from the Technical University of Dresden confirmed, based on a video and a photo from the public, that it was undoubtedly a wolf.
Wolves are considered shy – what to do if you encounter them
It is unusual for a wolf to bite a human. Wolves are considered shy and generally avoid people. According to the State Office for the Environment in Bavaria, young animals in particular can react curiously to people, but usually withdraw slowly and calmly. If you encounter one, you should behave calmly, put the dog on a leash if necessary, do not run away and do not follow the wolf. Under no circumstances should wolves be fed, as this could accustom them to being around people.
The German Ministry of the Environment states on its website: “It is part of the normal behavior of wolves that they occasionally walk within sight of inhabited buildings during the day, and occasionally cross villages at night or look for food on the outskirts of the village.”
However, attacks on people are very rare. With reference to a study by the Norwegian Institute for Natural Research (NINA) from 2002 it says:
“Wolf attacks on humans can be attributed to three main causes: rabies, provocation and food conditioning.”
In Germany, in August 2023, a wolf bit an eight-year-old boy from Schleswig-Holstein in the chest in the Eschede film zoo near Celle. The family had booked a so-called “animal encounter”.
Wolf in Hamburg is not a new phenomenon
The animal first sniffed the child’s hand and then snapped for an unknown reason. The boy was taken to a hospital and released after outpatient treatment.
Wolves are not a completely new phenomenon in Hamburg. According to the environmental agency, a wolf was spotted in the Duvenstedter Brook nature reserve at the end of January this year. In mid-March, an animal was run over by a vehicle on Autobahn 25. Wolves first appeared in Hamburg in 2013 – confirmed sightings have increased since then. The animals are reported particularly frequently between March and May.
Sources used:
- With material from the dpa news agency