Wolf attacks on humans

A wolf attack is an attack on a human by a wolf or wolves. Under normal circumstances, wild wolves are generally timid around humans. Wolves usually try to avoid contact with people, to the point of even abandoning their kills when an approaching human is detected, cite web | url = http://www.wolftrust.org.uk/a-wkp7-explaining-attacks.html | title = Wolves Killing People - Explaining Attacks | author = | publisher = Wolf Trust| accessdate = 2008-05-25] though there are several reported circumstances in which wolves have been recorded to act aggressively toward humans. Compared to other carnivorous mammals known to attack humans in general, the frequency with which wolves have been recorded to kill people is much lower, indicating that though potentially dangerous, wolves are among the least threatening for their size and predatory potential.

History of wolf attacks

Europe

In Scotland, during the reign of James VI, wolves were considered such a threat to travellers that special houses called "spittals" were erected on the highways for protection.cite book | author = Matthews, Richard | title = Nightmares of Nature | year = 1995 | pages = pp.256 | id = ISBN 0002200155 ] The people of the Scottish Highlands used to bury their dead on offshore islands to avoid having the bodies eaten by wolves.cite book | author = Buczacki, Stefan | title = Fauna Britanica| year = 2005 | pages = pp.528 | id = ISBN 0600613925 ] In Imperial Russia 1890, a document was produced stating that 161 people had been killed by wolves in 1871. During the First World War, starving wolves had amassed in great numbers in Kovno and began attacking Imperial Russian and Imperial German fighting forces, causing the two fighting armies to form a temporary truce to fight off the animals. [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E0DE3DD103BE03ABC4151DFB166838C609EDE&oref=slogin] After the fall of the Soviet Union, documents were discovered indicating that a number of wolf attacks had occurred in villages during the Eastern front. This information was apparently suppressed by the Soviet government in order to hide the consequences of the mass confiscation of firearms during the war.

A hypothesis as to why wolves in Eurasia historically acted more aggressively toward humans than those in North America is that in the past, Old World wolf hunting was mostly an activity for the nobility, whereas American wolf hunts were partaken by ordinary citizens, nearly all of them possessing firearms. This difference could have caused American wolves to be more fearful of humans, making them less willing to venture into settled areas.

Nevertheless, with the exception of one attack on a French shepherd in 2001, [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/1494957.stm BBC News | MEDIA REPORTS | French shepherd 'mauled by wolves' ] ] modern Western Europe has had very few attacks and no recent fatalities due greatly to the near complete lack of Wolves in Western Europe. "Lupus," a German group of wildlife biologists, says it has documented 250 encounters between people and wolves in the Lusatia region and there were no problems in any of the cases. [ [http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,467205,00.html The Return of Wolves to Germany: "Fears Are Being Stoked" - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News ] ]

North America

Though most Native American tribes revered wolves, their oral history does confirm that they were in fact on occasion attacked by wolves long before the arrival of European settlers. Woodland Indians were usually the most at risk, as they would often encounter wolves suddenly and at close quarters. An old Nunamiut hunter once said in an interview with author Barry Lopez that wolves used to attack his people, until the introduction of firearms, at which point the attacks ceased.cite book | author = Lopez, Barry | title = Of wolves and men | year = 1978 | pages = pp.320 | id = ISBN 0743249364]

When settlers began colonizing the continent, they noticed that though the local wolves were more numerous than those in Europe, they were less aggressive.In Canada, an Ontario newspaper offered a $100 reward for proof of an unprovoked wolf attack on a human. The money was left uncollected. Though Theodore Roosevelt considered the large timber wolves of north-western Montana and Washington to be equal in size and strength to Northern European wolves, he noted that they were nonetheless much shyer around man. [ [http://www.fullbooks.com/Hunting-the-Grisly-and-Other-Sketches3.html "Hunting the Grisly and Other Sketches" by Theodore Roosevelt, 1893] ]

In modern times, as humans begin to encroach on wolf habitat more contacts are being noted. Often the contact is because the person is walking their pet dog and the wolf pack considers the dog a prey item, inciting an attack. [ [http://www.ktva.com/topstory/ci_7784161 Fish and game officials hopeful wolf attacks will soon stop] ] [ [http://www.adn.com/anchorage/story/244284.html Wolves attack joggers' dogs on Fort Rich] ] [ [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_ak_bold_wolves.htmlBold Anchorage wolves attack dogs, circle joggers] ] [ [http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/12/22/woman_dogs_attacked_by_alaskan_wolves/8617/ Woman, dogs attacked by Alaskan wolves] ]

Unlike the grey wolf, the red wolf has not been known to attack people. However, packs of red wolves were reported to scavenge on battlefield corpses during the Mexican-American War.cite book | author=Audubon, John James | title=The Imperial Collection of Audubon Animals | year=1967 | pages=p307 | id=ASIN|B000M2FOFM ]

Asia

In 18th century, Japan experienced an outbreak of wolf attacks due to rabies spreading from China and Korea.cite book | author = Walker, Brett L. | title = The Lost Wolves Of Japan | year = 2005 | pages = pp.331 | id = ISBN 0295984929]

Traditionally, Hindus have refrained from killing even man-eating wolves, due to the superstition that even one drop of wolf blood spilled could result in a bad harvest.cite book | author = Maclean, Charles | title = The Wolf Children| year = 1980 | pages = pp.336 | id = ISBN 0140050531] During a 2-year period (1996–1997) in Uttar Pradesh, wolves killed or seriously injured 74 humans, mostly children under the age of 10 years. The attacks were well documented by wolf authorities. [ [http://www.sinauer.com/groom/article.php?id=24 Principles of Conservation Biology - (Case Study) Wolf Habituation as a Conservation Conundrum ] ] One of the worst cases ever recorded occurred in 1878 in British India. During a one year period 624 people were killed by man-eating wolves. [ [http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/05/08/stories/1308017f.htm The Hindu : Wolf as man-eater ] ] A series of guidelines have been written by Yadvendradev V. Jhala and Dinesh Kumar Sharma, both from the Wildlife Institute of India to avoid wolf attacks. Vulnerable-aged children, according to Indian researchers, are children between the ages of 2-10 who live in areas where huts are scattered and where vegetation can conceal a predator.cite web | url = http://www.rangemagazine.com/archives/stories/summer03/ground-hog.htm | title = Groundhog day at the wolf wars | work = | publisher = | accessdate = 2007-06-01]

Causes and differing types of attack

Attacks due to provocation have occurred, usually involving shepherds defending their flocks, though none have been recorded to be fatal. Unprovoked attacks by non-rabid wolves are rare, though they have happened. The majority of victims of unprovoked healthy wolves tend to be women and children. Historically, attacks by healthy wolves tended to be clustered in space and time, indicating that human-killing was not a normal behavior for the average wolf, but was rather a specialized behavior that single wolves or packs developed and maintained until they were killed. Records from the former Soviet Union indicate that the largest number of attacks on children in areas with high wolf densities occurred in summer during July and August, the period when female wolves begin feeding their cubs solid food. Sharp falls in the frequency of attacks were noted in the Autumn months of September and October, coinciding with drops in temperature which caused most children to remain indoors for longer periods.

Habituation is a known factor contributing to some wolf attacks which results from living in close proximity to human habitations, which can cause wolves to lose their fear of humans and consequently approach too closely, much like urban coyotes. Habituation can also happen when people intentionally encourage wolves to come up to them, usually by offering them food, or unintentionally, when people do not sufficiently intimidate them. This is corroborated by accounts demonstrating that wolves in protected areas are more likely to show boldness toward humans than ones in areas where they are actively hunted.cite book | author= L. David Mech & Luigi Boitani | title=Wolves: Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation | year=2001 | pages= p 448 | id= ISBN 0226516962 ]

Hybridization between wolves and domestic dogs is thought to result in animals which though possessing the predatory instincts of wolves, show a dog-like lack of timidity toward humans.

The majority of fatal wolf attacks have historically involved rabies, which was first recorded in wolves in the 13th century. Though wolves are not reservoirs for the disease, they can catch it from other species. Wolves develop an exceptionally severe aggressive state when infected and can bite numerous people in a single attack. Before a vaccine was developed, bites were almost always fatal. Today, wolf bites can be treated, but the severity of rabid wolf attacks can sometimes result in outright death, or a bite near the head will make the disease act too fast for the treatment to take effect. Unlike healthy wolves which typically limit themselves to attacking women or children, attacks by rabid wolves are made at random, with adult men being killed on occasion. Rabid attacks tend to cluster in winter and spring. With the reduction of rabies in Europe and North America, few rabid wolf attacks have been recorded, though some still occur annually in the middle east.cite web | url= http://www.nina.no/archive/nina/Publikasjoner/oppdragsmelding/NINA-OM731.pdf | title= The Fear of Wolves: A Review of Wolf Attacks on Humans | publisher= Norsk Institutt for Naturforskning | accessdate= 2008-06-26] Rabid attacks can be distinguished from predatory attacks by the fact that rabid wolves limit themselves to biting their victims rather than consuming them. Plus, the timespan of predatory attacks can sometimes last for months or years, as opposed to rabid attacks which end usually after a fortnight.cite web | url = http://www.lcie.org/Docs/Regions/Baltic/Linnell%20AZL%20Wolf%20attacks%20in%20Fennoscandia.pdf | title = Is the fear of wolves justified? A Fennoscandian perspective | work = | publisher = Acta Zoologica Lituanica, 2003, Volumen 13, Numerus 1 | accessdate = 2008-05-09] Much like some big cats,cite book
last = Corbett
first = Jim
title = Man-eaters of Kumaon
pages = viii-xiii
publisher = Oxford University Press
year = 1944] old or crippled wolves unable to tackle their normal prey have also been recorded to attack humans.

Attack patterns and methods of attack

A recent Fennoscandian study on historical wolf attacks occurring in the 18th–19th centuries indicated that victims were almost entirely children under the age of 12, with 85% of the attacks occurring when an adult was not present. In the few cases in which an adult was killed, it was almost always a woman. In nearly all cases, only a single victim was injured in each attack, although the victim was with 2–3 other people in a few cases. This contrasts dramatically with the pattern seen in attacks by rabid wolves, where up to 40 people can be bitten in the same attack. Some recorded attacks occurred over a period of months or even years, making the likelihood of rabies infected perpetrators unlikely, considering that death usually occurs within 2–10 days after the initial symptoms. The attacks tended to be clustered in space and time, indicating that human-killing was not a normal behavior for the average wolf, but was rather a specialized behavior that single wolves or packs developed and maintained until they were killed.cite web | url = http://www.lcie.org/Docs/Regions/Baltic/Linnell%20AZL%20Wolf%20attacks%20in%20Fennoscandia.pdf | title = Is the fear of wolves justified? A Fennoscandian perspective. | work = | publisher = Acta Zoologica Lituanica, 2003, Volumen 13, Numerus 1 | accessdate = 2008-05-09] Records from the former Soviet Union indicate that the largest number of attacks on children occurred in summer during July and August, the period when female wolves begin feeding their cubs solid food. Sharp falls in the frequency of attacks were noted in the Autumn months of September and October, coinciding with drops in temperature which caused most children to remain indoors for longer periods.

People who corner or attack wolves typically receive quick bites to the hands or feet, though the attack is usually not pressed. In both rabid and predatory attacks, victims are usually attacked around the head and neck in a sustained manner, though healthy wolves rarely attack frontally, having been shown to prefer to attack from behind. Some specialised man-eaters have been recorded to kill children by knocking them over from behind and biting the back of their heads and necks. [“Wolves and wild dogs”, from ‘’Man-Eaters’’, Michael Bright, Robson books, 2000] The body of a victim of a healthy wolf is often dragged off and consumed unless disturbed.

even stages leading to predatory attacks

Ethologist Doctor Valerius Geist of the University of Calgary, Alberta outlined seven hypothetical stages which lead to wolf attacks on humans based on historical and modern accounts.cite web | url = http://westinstenv.org/wp-content/Geist_when-do-wolves-become-dangerous-to-humans.pdf | title = When do wolves become dangerous to humans? | work = Valerius Geist | publisher = The University of Calgary, Alberta | accessdate = 2008-07-19]

* The first outlined stage is a scarcity of wild game, be it due to poaching, habitat loss or seasonal migration.
* Wolves begin approaching human habitations, though limiting their visits to nocturnal hours. Their presence is usually established by barking matches with local dogs.
* After a certain amount of time, wolves begin to frequent human habitations in daylight hours and observe people and livestock at a distance.
* The wolves begin acting bolder by attacking small stock and pets at daylight, sometimes pursuing their prey up to verandas. The wolves at this point do not focus on humans, but will growl and act threateningly toward them.
* The wolves begin attacking large bodied livestock and may follow riders, as well as mount verandas and look into windows.
* People begin to be harassed, usually in a playful manner. The wolves will chase people over short distances and nip at them, though will retreat if confronted.
* Wolves begin attacking people in predatory fashions.

List of fatal wolf attacks

This is a list of known fatal wolf attacks worldwide by century in "reverse chronological order".

2000s

1700s

Pre-1700s

Gallery

ee also

*Beast of Gévaudan
*Kenton Joel Carnegie
*Patricia Wyman
*Wolves of Ashta
*Wolf of Gysinge
*Wolf of Soissons
*Wolves of Périgord
*Wolf of Sarlat
*Wolves of Paris
*Wolves of Hazaribagh

References

External links

* [http://www.nina.no/archive/nina/Publikasjoner/oppdragsmelding/NINA-OM731.pdf The Fear of Wolves: A Review of Wolf Attacks on Humans]
* [http://westinstenv.org/wp-content/Geist_when-do-wolves-become-dangerous-to-humans.pdf When do Wolves become Dangerous to Humans?]
* [http://www.mexicanwolf.0catch.com/Human%20Toll%20articles/e-liite%202%20Hazaribagh%20wolves.pdf Child Lifting: Wolves in Hazaribagh, India]