An eight-year-old girl has been seriously injured after being attacked by a wolf at a wildlife park in Germany.

The child was inside an enclosure at Johannismühle park in Brandenburg, south of Berlin, when the incident happened on Wednesday, police said.

She was with a member of staff and two other children at the time. No one else was injured.

Police said the exact circumstances surrounding the attack were still being investigated.

The wildlife park, located in the town of Baruth/Mark, has temporarily closed following the incident. Its website says it is due to reopen on November 2.

Bild reported that the attack happened before the park opened to the public at 10am local time, raising the possibility that the girl was taking part in a special animal encounter.

Johannismühle offers small-group tours that give visitors the chance to spend time around certain animals. Its website advertises activities including feeding wolves and petting llamas.

This comes after there have been a series of serious animal attacks at wildlife parks and zoos across Europe.

A keeper at a zoo in the Netherlands died this week after being mauled by a leopard, while a man was killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park earlier this month.