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<i>Corynebacterium silvaticum</i> is a newly identified animal pathogen of forest animals such as roe deer and wild boars. The species is closely related to the emerging human pathogen <i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> and the widely distributed animal pathogen <i>Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis</i>. In this study, <i>Corynebacterium silvaticum</i> strain W25 was characterized with respect to its interaction with human cell lines. Microscopy, measurement of transepithelial electric resistance and cytotoxicity assays revealed detrimental effects of <i>C. silvaticum</i> to different human epithelial cell lines and to an invertebrate animal model, <i>Galleria mellonella</i> larvae, comparable to diphtheria toxin-secreting <i>C. ulcerans.</i> Furthermore, the results obtained may indicate a considerable zoonotic potential of this newly identified species.