Skip to content

Wolf attack on man suspected: investigations underway

Genetic tests are to clarify whether a man in the Elbe-Elster district was attacked by a wolf. The police and the State Office for the Environment (LfU) were informed of the suspected attack on Wednesday. According to police reports on Thursday, a 47-year-old man was walking his dog in a wooded...

County of Elbe-Elster - Wolf attack on man suspected: investigations underway

Genetic tests should clarify whether a man in the Elbe-Elster district was attacked by a wolf. The police and the State Office for the Environment (LfU) were informed of the suspected attack on Wednesday. According to police reports on Thursday, a 47-year-old man was walking his dog in a wooded area near Doberlug-Kirchhain when he came across the animal. It attacked the dog. When the man intervened, he was bitten several times and sustained serious injuries. He is now being treated in hospital, according to a police spokesperson. The "Lausitzer Rundschau" and RBB had initially reported the incident.

According to the State Environment Agency, doctors took swabs for genetic analysis from bite wounds that had not yet been treated because of the suspected wolf attack. The injuries were also comprehensively documented. The samples were then taken to a laboratory at the Senckenberg Center for Wildlife Genetics. There, the samples were examined with the highest priority, it was said. It is unclear exactly when the results will be available. Among other things, the laboratory extracts DNA from feces, hair and saliva residues from carcasses.

Until the samples have been analyzed, the LfU says it does not want to rule out a wolf attack. However, all the facts known so far suggest that it was a dog, LfU spokesman Thomas Frey told the German Press Agency.

The man who was attacked by the animal is also not sure whether he was dealing with a wolf after a conversation. According to the LfU, the injured man described the animal. It was about the size of a German shepherd, had short hair and was slightly shorter than an Old German shepherd, the man said.

Read also:

Source: www.stern.de

Comments

Latest