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Friend of the Wolf
Wolves are probably the most misunderstood of the wild animals. Tales of cold bloodedness abound, in spite of their friendly, social and intelligent traits. They are truly free spirits even though their packs are highly organized.
In Europe during the Middle Ages (12-14 century), wolves were often used as a symbol of the devil. Rabies was a common disease at that time and it is thought that the sight of rabid wolves engendered a superstitious fear reaction which lasted for centuries. This most likely helped to ensure the demise of the wolf in Britian and many parts of Europe.
Think about it. The majority of people at that time would not have encountered a healthy wolf. The last wolves in the British Isles were killed in the 1700s. For the most part, wolves were exterminated in Europe in the 20th century, although a stable population can be found in the Balkans, and remnant populations still exist in less developed parts of Portugal, Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Gray wolves are considered rare but are still found throughout much of their ancient range in southwestern and southcentral Asia, but they have been extirpated in Japan. They were aggressively hunted throughout what was called the Soviet Union, but some reports indicate that the gray wolves are making a comeback in that region's less populated areas.
The relationship between people and wolves has changed dramatically over the course of time. Many thousands of years ago, early man admired the wolf for its coordinated and graceful hunting. No one can say how long it has been since a shaggy, friendly cross between a wolf and a wild dog became man's best friend. The dog, at least, has kept its popularity since that ancient time. Somewhere along the way, the wolf lost our admiration.
We kept herds of sheep and cattle, which the wolves found astonishingly simple to hunt. We lost much of our ability to survive as nomadic hunters -- the wolves were still masters of the uncertain wilderness outside the city walls.
At one time, wolves were distributed over an immense part of the Northern Hemisphere. Wolves lived across most of the United States within the last two hundred years. That was before we became "civilized" and started viciously hunting the wolves. Today the gray wolf is found in a few northern states in very low numbers. Only Minnesota is home to enough gray wolves for them to be considered in the "threatened" category. Threatened is one step safer than "endangered". And, there are still a few red wolves left in the extreme Southwest and Mexico. The Mexican wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf and is considered extremely endangered. In Canada, wolves are in somewhat better shape. There, millions of acres of woodland and wilderness have offered a refuse for wolves.
There is no record of a healthy wolf attacking a human in the wild. That's a surprising fact, considering the "Big Bad Wolf" fairy tales we learned as children. There is some belief that European and Asian wolves might at one time have been more fierce than their American cousins. It's hard to prove. Wolves in Europe and Asia are now so scarce and so timid that any fierceness, if it was ever there, seems to have vanished. There, as in North America, a wolf would rather run from a human than confront one.
A wolf's howl seems to be completely irresistible. If one member of a pack starts to howl, inevitably the other pack members will join in. They stop where they are, stretch their necks and turn their long muzzles to the sky to utter long mournful howls. But a group sing is not the only time wolves howl. Sometimes a chorus will precede a hunt. Their powerful howls are effective for long distance communications. The hunting pack may be able to hear the baby sitter's howl if something goes wrong at home.
Sources: Powersource Perspective; National Wildlife Federation
Wolf photos found on public domain sites circa 1998-9. If you see something that belongs to you, notify me immediately and it will be either removed or credit given. Table background created by Laurels Curius. Marble background courtesy of Mad Hatter Graphics.
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