Were wolves introduced to Ireland by people?
The presence of wolves in Ireland can be traced as far back as 30,000 years. The first archaeological remains and earliest evidence of wolves in Ireland was 34,000 BP (before present), based on radio carbon data, found in Castlepook cave near The Doneraile Wildlife National Park, Co. Cork, (Hickey 2000). Wolf bones have been found in the counties of Waterford and Clare and some of these remains are on display at the National History Museum in Dublin. Ireland had a large population of wolves around the sixteenth century just before they started being hunted. Ireland was a perfect environment for wolves to prosper due to the large oak forests and relative non-existence of other large predators, excluding man. It is believed that there could have been more then 1000 wolves living in Ireland at one time.
