Police confirm wolf attacked girl, 8, at Brandenburg wildlife park

A wolf attacked and seriously injured an eight-year-old girl at the Johannismühle wildlife park near Baruth/Mark, south of Berlin, on Wednesday morning, a police spokesperson confirmed, settling earlier uncertainty over which animal was involved.

The girl had been in an animal enclosure with two other children and a member of staff when at least one wolf attacked her, police said. The other people in the enclosure were not physically hurt.

A rescue helicopter flew the girl to the Unfallkrankenhaus trauma hospital in Berlin's Marzahn district, a reporter at the scene said. She suffered head injuries, and police described her condition as serious.

Police said emergency services were alerted at around 9.30am local time. A police spokeswoman said the injured child was a visitor to the park, which was then closed to the public for the rest of Wednesday.

Officers are investigating how the children came to be inside the enclosure and whether there was any negligence, police said. Witnesses are being questioned, and chaplains were sent to the scene to support those involved.

The wildlife park said it was cooperating fully with the authorities and could not give further details because of the ongoing investigation. "We regret the incident very much, and the family affected has our full support," the park said. It keeps grey and polar wolves alongside a brown bear, a lynx, deer and other animals in enclosures.

Brandenburg is home to a growing wild wolf population outside the park as well, with numerous packs now recorded living freely in the region, Tagesspiegel reported. It is still the autumn school holidays in Brandenburg, and the park had been open to visitors at the time of the attack.