March 31, 2026, 8:58 p.mMarch 31, 2026, 8:58 p.m
The wolf has found a temporary home in the sanctuary. (symbol image)Image: imgur
The captured wolf, which according to authorities in Hamburg injured a woman, has been taken to a wildlife sanctuary in Lower Saxony. There he found a “new temporary home,” a spokesman for the environmental authority told the German Press Agency.
“In consultation with animal welfare experts, it was decided that the wolf would temporarily be accommodated in a wildlife sanctuary in Lower Saxony.” He did not say which station it was. It is also not clear whether the wolf can stay there permanently.
Senator: First bite injury caused by wolf
The animal was initially seen on the western outskirts of Hamburg last weekend. According to authorities, it then appeared on Monday in a shopping arcade in the densely populated Altona district.
According to the authorities, the incident with the woman occurred there. According to dpa information, the animal’s way out of the passage was blocked by automatic glass doors. The woman wanted to help the animal.
As Environment Senator Katharina Fegebank (Greens) said, the woman was injured by the animal. “This is the first time we have a situation where we have a bite injury caused by a wolf,” she said. The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation spoke of the first case since the wolf was “established” in 1998. “No person has been injured by a wolf since the species returned to Germany,” said the Federal Office.
The senator did not provide any information about the severity of the injury. The woman was able to leave the hospital after a short outpatient treatment.
Wolf is said to have shown a fear reaction
Fegebank assumes that the animal has a “fear reaction”. The wolf behaved “completely typical of the species” for a day and a half and moved “rather cautiously and shy of people,” she said. “And then it drives him right into the urban center.”
After the incident in Altona, the wolf ran into the city center and was caught by the police on Jungfernstieg. Until he was transported to Lower Saxony, he was housed in the Klövensteen game reserve in the west of Hamburg and received veterinary care.
Killing the animal would also be discussed
According to Environment State Councilor Stefanie von Berg (Greens), it can be assumed that the wolf came to the city in search of a new territory and then lost its orientation. “That explains why he kept going in instead of turning around,” she said.
In the afternoon, according to Fegebank, killing the animal and releasing it were discussed with experts as possible options. With a view to a possible repeat of such an incident, she said: “This is a situation that I would not forgive myself for.” (sda/dpa)