Police in South Ostrobothnia are investigating a report that a wolf is biting a person walking a dog near Lauhanvuori National Park on Saturday night.
"The matter was reported to the police over the weekend," Communications Manager of the Ostrobothnian Police Department Mikael Appel confirmed by Yle.
The report to the police detailed how the owner and the dog walked in the area as the dog accelerated – growled and tried to break free from the leash. The owner spotted the character of the animal right in front of them, and the animal then attacked the man, who raised his hand to defend himself.
Police said the man was slightly injured as a result of the incident and got home before the report was made.
Police began investigating the incident at the scene of the accident on Sunday alongside representatives of the Finnish Agency for Nature Conservation, but no traces of a wolf were found at the beginning of the investigation.
Police said the investigation into the site was hampered by overnight rains and the movement of hunters in the same area on Sunday morning, but the investigation is ongoing and no further information will be provided at this stage.
Jarkko Latvanen, chairman of the Kauhajoki hunting group in the area, told Yle that wolves are known to migrate in the area and therefore incidents such as the suspected attack on Saturday night, "essentially possible".
A special project called Life BorealWolf (LifeSusi ) warned hunting groups and dog users earlier this year that the chances of hunting dogs encountering a wolf in the woods this fall have increased significantly compared to last year.