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Wolves & People     See question two. Do wild wolves kill people? Are you more likely to die by lightning or by wolf? What is child lifting? Why don't healthy wild wolves usually kill people? Why do wolves attack people in Hollywood films? Do non-wild wolves kill people? Do wild wolves kill people? Wolves have potential to kill people because they are large animals who prey on big, speedy, weighty creatures like bison and musk oxen. So will Highland residents and hill walkers be safe among wolves? The first comprehensive and detailed report of attacks by wild wolves on humans in Europe, Asia and North America has now been published (Linnell et al 2002). The report's eighteen researchers reviewed the most reliable records they could find, written in 13 languages and dating from the 16th century to the present. They identified three kinds of wolf attack: Rabid - where wolves have gone mad because the rabies virus has infected their brains. Predatory - unprovoked attacks where wolves appear to regard humans as prey. Defensive - where wolves are provoked by people to attack, such as when trapped or cornered. They found that: Most fatal attacks were by rabid wolves. There were few fatal predatory attacks and none in North America. There were no fatalities when wolves attacked defensively. Many records are fragmentary so cannot provide the total number of people killed by wolves, but do show that wolves have killed hundreds of people - and we can expect as many wounded people. However, given these attacks were over a period of 400 years and throughout the northern hemisphere, attacks by wolves are rare. Most fatalities were pre-20th century. In the last fifty years the researchers could only find records of something over seventeen people killed in Europe and Russia, and none in North America - coinciding with the decrease of the spread of rabies in these regions. Factors predisposing wolves to attack people were identified as: Rabies - the main factor. Habituation - when wolves lose their fear of humans and approach too close. Highly modified environments - this includes few natural wolf prey, human poverty and large numbers of unattended small children, characteristic of pre-20th century Europe and India today (see below). Provocation - when humans molest or try to kill wolves. The researchers conclude that the risk of wolf attack in Europe and North America today is very low because the factors associated with wolf attack are now rare. People in the Highlands, therefore, have little or nothing to fear from wolves: rabies does not exist in Britain and conditions are not typical of highly modified environments as described above. Also see McNay M E (2002): A Case History of wolf-human encounters in Alaska and Canada. This is comprehensive review of wolf attacks on people in Canada, the country with the largest wolf population in the world. Mech L D (1998): Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? - Revisited. First published in Audubon 92 (2), 82-85. This article, by one of the world's foremost wolf experts, is about wolf-caused human mortality in North America. Top of page Are you more likely to die by lightning or by wolf? You have a greater chance of being killed or injured by the rarity of lightning strike than by wolf attack. The largest number of wild wolves in conterminous USA live in Minnesota, around 2,500 (Mech 2001), and are among the most studied wolves in the world. The wolves have killed no one, but each year one or two people die in Minnesota by lightning strike (NOAA). Lightning in Britain kills on average three people per year (Elsom 2001; Elsom 2002). So assuming a wolf recovery in Britain, you would more likely be toppled by a bolt of lightning than by a wolf. Thinking about lightning helps keep potential adverse wolf encounters in perspective. Top of page What is child lifting? Child lifting occurs in India and is sporadically reported in Indian newspapers. Child lifting is colloquial for when a wolf takes and kills small children. For example in 1996 a wolf was reported to have killed dozens of small children from about 50 villages in Uttar Pradesh, central north India (Jhala et al 1997). Why does child lifting occur? One hypothesis (Mech 1998) is: - there is almost no wild prey for the wolves; - the wolves live very close to people; - the wolves lose their fear of people; - the wolves are inquisitive; - a wolf approaches small isolated children; - the wolf learns children can be grabbed; - the learning spreads to other wolves; - in addition, compensation is paid for loss of children and might encourage some large families living in poverty to leave children neglected or unsupervised. Top of page Why don't healthy wild wolves usually kill people? This is one of the mysteries about (non-rabid) wolves that has yet to be explained. A prominent wolf worker offered a couple of hypotheses (Mech 1998), which must do meantime. Hypothesis: Humans harass wolves. Then wolves learn to be afraid of people and keep their distance. Wolves who do not learn are killed by humans, become fewer in number and thus dangerous encounters become rare. Hypothesis: Wolf prey is quadruped. Humans are biped. So wolves do not recognise humans as prey. Furthermore, bears sometimes stand on two legs and wolves usually avoid bears. Top of page Why do wolves attack people in Hollywood films? Wolf attacks in films are a device to heighten tension and give viewers a thrill. It does not mean it happens in real life. Top of page Do non-wild wolves kill people? A number of people have been killed by captive wolves and wolf-dog hybrids (Linnell et al 2002). But they are not wild wolves so this is a different game. Top of page References Elsom D M (2001): Deaths and injuries caused by lightning in the United Kingdom. Atmospheric Research 56, 325-334. Elsom D M (2002): See the entry Current Research: severe storm climatology from this Oxford Brookes University staff member web page. Jhala V & Sharma D K (1997): Childlifting by wolves in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. Journal of Wildlife Research, 2 (2), 94-101. Linnell J D C et al (2002): The fear of wolves: a review of wolf attacks on humans.. NINA Oppdragsmelding, 731, 1 - 65. McNay M E (2002): A Case History of wolf-human encounters in Alaska and Canada. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Wildlife Technical Bulletin 13. Mech L D (1998): Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? - Revisited. Mech L D (2001): Managing Minnesota's recovered wolves. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 29 (1), 70-77. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. NOAA: Variations by state in reported frequencies. Technical Memorandum NWS SR-193, Section 3. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Page revised 8.04