Overview
- Recent reports list the cow Elwira roaming Saxony since spring, fresh sightings in the Dübener Heide, and an October observation near Leipzig, with regular appearances in Brandenburg and Vorpommern.
- Elk specialist Michael Striese says nearly all animals observed in Germany are transient wanderers, noting typical daily movements of about 30 kilometers and a tendency to turn back.
- Most visitors originate from Poland’s expanding population of roughly 30,000 elk, with occasional dispersers from the Czech Republic, including the Šumava area.
- Monitoring remains patchy beyond Brandenburg, leaving the total number of elk in Germany unknown, though incidental wolf-camera data captures some presence.
- Foresters and road-safety experts warn of winter browsing damage to young trees and dangerous collisions, and the public is advised to keep 30–40 meters away, especially with dogs.