Overview
- Recent reports include the cow Elwira roaming Saxony for months and a separate October sighting near Leipzig, with regular appearances also recorded in Brandenburg and Vorpommern.
- Experts say nearly all animals observed in Germany are transient, with the notable exception of the bull Bert, resident in Brandenburg's Nuthe-Nieplitz nature park since 2018.
- Outside Brandenburg there is no systematic elk monitoring, leaving the number of animals in Germany unknown according to WWF.
- Biologists attribute most arrivals to Poland’s robust population of roughly 30,000 animals, with occasional migrants from the Czech Šumava region, and a conservation group describes a westward expansion that could enable future settlement.
- Forestry and road safety are key concerns, as elk can heavily browse young trees and pose severe collision risks, prompting guidance to keep 30–40 meters distance and to drive more slowly at night and at dusk in elk areas.