A wolf that bit a woman in Hamburg last week in the first such attack in Germany for decades has been released back into the wild, the local environment ministry said Monday.
The animal was “fitted with a transmitter and successfully released” on Sunday evening and is being “closely monitored”, the ministry said in a statement.
If the wolf wanders near a built-up area again, “hunters can intervene immediately if necessary”, state environment minister Katharina Fegebank said.
Other options were considered for the animal, including having it put down or placed in a wildlife enclosure, but these were considered unfeasible for “legal and practical reasons”, according to the ministry.
The wolf bit a woman in a shopping centre in Hamburg last Monday in the first incident of its kind since the species began returning to Germany almost 30 years ago.
The 65-year-old victim suffered bite wounds to her mouth and cheek, according to the Bild daily.
The animal had been sighted several times in different parts of Hamburg in the days ahead of the attack.
Wolves were effectively wiped out in Germany by the mid‑19th century, largely due to bounties and habitat loss.
However, wolves migrating from Poland began settling again in eastern Germany after reunification, when stronger wildlife protections were introduced.
An official study last year recorded 219 packs of wolves across the country, as well as 43 wolf pairs and 14 lone wolves.
The German government in December backed legislation that would allow regular hunting of wolves in order to manage populations in areas with large packs.
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