9781422276426

INTRODUCTION

Even though their white coats would reflect the sun’s rays and warmth, these two wolves seek the shade to escape the heat of a warm summer’s day.

F or centuries, the wolf has been one of the most maligned of all wild creatures. At various times in history, it has been venerated, as was the Roman wolf that reportedly gave suckle to the twins Romulus and Remus. More often, it has been hated and feared, as was the Beast of Gevaudan. This one wolf in the south of France was reported to have killed 123 people. Its depredations against people and livestock became so severe that in the mid–1700s, King Louis XV called out an entire army to hunt it down. It took 43,000 men and 2,800 dogs 2 months to finally kill this wolf. European history abounds with records of the dev- astation of wolves on livestock and attacks on human beings. It is the general consensus today that most of the attacks on humans were done by rabid wolves. Single attacks could be blamed on rabies, but repeated attacks cannot because rabid animals usually die of the virus in a very short time. There are records of the Asian wolf carrying off, and eating, children in India. I found no mention of attacks on human adults.

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