In Spain, there are not many cases of attacks on people by wolves, the last one verified was in León, in 1997, although It wasn't an attack per se, just a threat from a wolf that was feeding on a donkey, as a ranger passed him, the wolf followed closely until the ranger moved away from his prey. In 1983, a shepherd was bitten on the face by a she-wolf when it tried to take her pups from him. On the other hand, between 1957 and 1974, all the wolf attacks that occurred had children as victims, between a few months and 15 years old, many of the attacks were deadly
In this article on our site we will talk about if wolves attack people, why do wolves attack people? and what can be done to reduce the number of cases, which are practically non-existent. The whole truth below:
Wolf attacks on people
The relationship between humans and large predators has changed throughout history. At first we fled from them and avoided their territory, but today it is not like that. Many people insist on removing them and others fight to protect them.
Due to the large territories in which large carnivores live, their conservation should not focus solely on protected areas. It must be preserved in the natural environment. Normally this medium is for multiple uses and this is where conflicts with humans
Conflicts are diverse and include livestock depredation and competitionby wild ungulates (big game). However, one of the most serious problems is being injured or killed by a large carnivore. The killing of tigers, lions, leopards, cougars and bears (brown bear, black bear, polar bear and sloth bear) occurs regularly and hundreds of people are killed annually around the world.
Although the danger wolves pose to human safety remains controversial, people living anywhere in the world are afraid of wolves.
Factors associated with wolf attacks
After many years of research and compilation of cases of wolf attacks on people, several factors associated with these attacks have been isolated:
- Rage: The most important factor explaining wolf attacks today and probably throughout history is the presence of rage Although wolves are not a reservoir for the disease (they do not keep the rabies-causing bacteria inside their bodies, they just suffer from it), they seem to be susceptible to the overpopulation of domestic dogs in certain countries of the world, jackals and arctic foxes in northern areas. The consequences of these attacks can be dramatic since, although they do not kill the person, they can spread the disease. Rabies is responsible for most attacks on humans. This is especially evident in the last 25 years, where rabies accounts for the vast majority of attacks outside of India. In Spain, cases of rabid wolf attacks occurred between 1720 and 1949. Rabies has never been an endemic disease of the wild fauna of this country.
- Habituation: Many of the cases of wolf attacks on people, especially in North America, are due to animals that have They have lost their fear of humans and even associate our presence with food. In bears, for example, the consequences of this association between food and humans are well known. Many times we can see on television recordings of bears on the porches of houses in Canada. It seems that the same thing happens with wolves, but on rare occasions, it is not as common as in bears. In the 19th century, in countries like Sweden and Estonia, it happened on many occasions, attacks on humans by wolves that had escaped from captivity This captivity was due to to fur farms. On the other hand, hybrid wolves (crossbreeds of wild wolves and domestic dogs) that live in the wild are less afraid of people and cause more attacks. There are many zoos around the world that keep wolves in captivity. These animals are totally used to humans and yet there are no records of attacks or murders.
- Taunt: Like almost all animals when cornered, wolves also attack. A wolf caught in a hunter's trap will desperately try to free itself, and if a human approaches, it will attack.
- Extreme socio-environmental situations: the destruction of their habitat, the absence of prey and the presence of livestock make wolves come closer to areas where people live, because they desperately need to feed If the wolves have nowhere to live because we have taken their home, if they have nothing to eat because we hunt their prey and we keep in huge groups of defenseless animals (cattle) only protected by fences, it is totally normal for them to approach our areas and, on rare occasions, we have encounters with them, however, in these encounters, it is normal for them to flee.
How to reduce wolf attacks on people?
First of all, we need to understand how wolves attack. In the wild, wolves live and hunt in familygroups. They watch their prey, decide which is the weakest and easiest to catch, then, the most experienced individuals choose the hunting strategy and the attack begins.
To reduce attacks, each factor must be treated individually. State-level control of rabies is essential. In the Iberian Peninsula there have been no cases of rabies since 1978 In other countries such as India, rabies is a common disease, so this type of disease is normal attacks.
Avoid habituation or the release of animals habituated to humans is paramount. We leave less and less territory for wildlife, which is constantly being harassed, animals need to get closer to us to survive.
The management and restoration of prey populations and their habitat, and the use of effective methods to protect livestock so that they wolves are not dependent on human food sources, they will reduce both the number of encounters between wolves and humans and the risk of habituation. This should reduce the chances of wolf attacks on humans.
