Shepherds and environmentalists have clashed over claims a “rogue wolf” is marauding through southern Germany

The "problem" animal is believed to have gone on a killing spree, after several sheep and a goat were found dead on Saturday in the Odenwald forest.

Locals had thought wolves were extinct in the forest, which extends over parts of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, and their possible return has caused distress and calls to hunt the animal.

"Many pet owners fear financial losses," Bernd Keller, chairman of the forest’s shepherds association, which has 120 members, told local paper the Frankfurter Neue Presse.

Mr Keller called for the wild animal to be hunted immediately. Meanwhile, Dietrich Kübler, a 67-year-old farmer and hunter, claims he and his wife watched the wolf catch a goat and a sheep.

"That a wolf dares so close to human dwellings, shows problematic behavior," he told local reporters. But the Hessian State Office for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology, along with other environmental groups, has called for calm.