Why are people so afraid of wolves?

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103 answers

Jordan C

S Why are people so afraid of wolves?

Did you know there has never been a report of a healthy wolf attacking a person unprovoked. Why are people so scared of them, I worked with them at one point and they were really sweet.

They don't bite anymore then regular dogs do unless they are provoked. The only time I got bitten was by a baby one but it was playing.

Answer 1

Our unwarranted and unnatural fear of wolves goes back to the Dark Ages some experts suspect.  Others ponder if our fear of the wolf might even go back deeper into our history -- to our time in caves.

Several factors contributed to the reputation the wolf has unfairly been burdened with; most starting in Europe.  These include:

*Widespread myths and legends (even fairy tales!) about the vicious brutal character of the wolf. I.e., Little Red Riding Hood.

*Conditioned and learned fear passed down for generations.

*The occasional occurrence of young solo wolves attacking livestock -- often the remains of the attack were found, contributing to the image of the wolf as a horrifying beast.

This mentality was exported to North America; resulting in the whole sale slaughter of wolves across the continent.

You are more likely to get hit by lightning TWICE than attacked by a wolf.

These amazing smart, social and beautiful animals play a key role in numerous ecosystems across the world.  Education about  and acceptance of these wonderful creatures would be a significant step forward for our own species.

Answer 2

People are uneducated. Now maybe you have educated some people about them.

Answer 3

Jordan,  There's probably not as many folks afraid of wolves as you might think.  I'm certainly an optimist, but I'm sure that there are more people who feel like you do, than there are folks who fear wolves.  Having said all that, please remember that all wild animals deserve our respect, and most times the best thing we can do for them is to let them be.

Answer 4

lol people are afraid of anything we cant control because we think we are all knowing.. but in truth we are ignorant and naive in our own ways

Answer 5

Wolves aren't just a threat to people but did you do research on how often wolves attack livestock or even household pets.  This is where they become a common nuisance, they could damage sheep or cows, cats and dogs.  It's not just about the human interaction.

Answer 6

there are no figures for wolf attacks

i was once followed by wolves for 3 days,high up in the Canadian Rockies, on the 3rd day one came up close and said hello (speaking wolf ofcourse)they never even scared me

Wolves are noble animals

and Little Red Riding hood is burning in h**l as we speak for causing the deaths of so many and Walt Disney helped her

Answer 7

because people fear what they do not understand that and wolves have been depicted as mean ravenous animals

Answer 8

Umm, the story of the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs.  Little Red Riding Hood. The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  Who didn't grow up afraid of wolves?

Answer 9

theyre scared of them because they obviously dont know enough about them.

Answer 10

Try to pet one in the wild, but beware they travel in packs and are usually hungry enough to eat you, if you think they won't you are mistaken!

Answer 11

I didnt know foresay people are ,maybee some people.I suppose along time ago when wolves were present here a walk at night might have been pretty creepy with a pack of wolves howling and hunting nearby.I would say wolves are more disliked than feared though.They are disliked by ranchers because they do kill livestock,But who was here first the rancher or the wolf.

Answer 12

Some thing is very fishy here.

Wolves are wild and if you were playing with a pup and it`s mother did not ripe you  apart the mother was dead or it was not wild. It has been a long time the US had large amount of wolves that were wild so the attacks on people happened along time ago. As the number of wolves goes up so will the attacks mostly on children.

So why are people afraid it is simple.

Wild dogs attack people so will wolves just as they hunt sheep and other small livestock..

Answer 13

It's probably from all those fairy tales where they make the wolf out to be a bad guy. I don't understand why wolves are viewed as evil. Personally, I think they're beautiful creatures.

Answer 14

Frankly, you don't know what you're talking about.  Wolves are predators.  Sometimes they attack people.  Human history is rife with this reality.  In fact, almost everything in the wild occasionally attacks a human being.

So what?

As for why people are afraid of them?  Americans are afraid of everything these days.  They're afraid some dark skinned fellow with a bomb will sneak up and poison the water supply, set off an H-bomb somewhere nearby, crash an airplane into a schoolhouse.

They're afraid they'll get some disease, that the water they drink will make them sick.  Afraid of the food they eat.  Afraid of the people across town.

Of course they're afraid of wolves, bears.  Americans have no idea what the plant or animal they're eating a piece of looked like, color, size, even species, frequently.  They're disfranchised from the entire human experience throughout history until, maybe, the last 50 years.

h**l, no wonder they're cowards.