How Dangerous are Wolves to Humans?
One of the most powerful myths about wolves is that they commonly attack and eat people. A more recent “counter myth” is that wolves pose no danger at all to humans. Neither of these myths is correct. The idea that wolves hunt and kill humans is quite old, and goes much farther back than the story of Little Red Riding Hood. There are also numerous tales of wolves killing people in pre-20th century Europe. Despite these tales, a review of published studies on wolf attacks clearly demonstrates that while wolves do sometimes attack humans, such attacks are extremely rare. In fact, many of the recorded attacks in Europe are now thought to be the work of hybrids between wolves and domestic dogs. While it is always wise to treat wild animals as potentially dangerous, there is little reason to fear wolves in particular. As Linnell et al. (2002) put it: “When the frequency of wolf attacks on people is compared to that from other large carnivores or wildlife in general it is obvious that wolves
