Girl, 8, seriously injured in wolf attack at Johannismühle Wildlife Park in Brandenburg

Mixed · 2An eight-year-old girl was seriously injured on Wednesday 28 October when she was attacked by a wolf or wolves at Johannismühle Wildlife Park in Baruth, Brandenburg, Germany, about 28 miles from Berlin. 1 2 Mixed · 2The attack happened before the park opened, and the girl is reported to have been taking part in a 'zookeeper for a day' style programme in which visitors act as keepers and feed animals. 1 2 Left · 1The Daily Mirror, citing reports, says she entered the wolf enclosure with two other children and a professional guide; the other two children were not physically hurt but were treated for severe shock, according to Bild. 2

Mixed · 2Police were alerted at 9.30am. A police spokesperson said a child had allegedly been attacked and injured by 'one or more animals', and did not name the species. A rescue helicopter took the girl to the Unfallkrankenhaus trauma hospital in Marzahn, Berlin, and she is understood to have severe head injuries. 1 2 Centre · 1The BBC, citing a police statement, says she was in the enclosure with a staff member and two other children, that no one else was injured, and that the 'precise circumstances of the incident are the subject of an ongoing police investigation'. 3 Mixed · 3Accounts of her condition differ: the Daily Mail describes her as in critical condition, the Daily Mirror says she is reportedly in a serious but not currently life-threatening condition, and the BBC says only that she is seriously injured with head injuries, citing Bild. 1 2 3

Mixed · 2The park, which the Mail says houses grey and polar wolves, birds, deer and wildcats and the Mirror says also has brown bears and lynx, was closed after the incident, with a sign citing 'technical reasons'. It is to stay shut until further notice and may reopen only with the authority's approval. 1 2 Mixed · 2The BBC says the park's website gives a reopening date of 2 November without further details, and describes the animals as grey and arctic wolves, brown bear and lynx; the Mirror reports the park will stay closed until further notice. 3 2 Mixed · 2Police and the Teltow-Fläming district administration have opened an investigation into how and why children were allowed into an enclosure with predators and whether safety rules were broken. Staff are understood to have received emotional support from emergency teams. 2 1

Right · 1The Mail places the incident among other recent zoo attacks, including the death of a Dutch zookeeper mauled by a leopard at Safaripark Beekse Bergen and the death of William Chapman after he entered a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on 10 October. 1 Centre · 1The BBC likewise links the incident to a Dutch zoo keeper's death from a leopard mauling this week and a man killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park earlier this month. 3