Wolf attacks on humans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Two of the Wolves of Périgord, on display at the chateau of Razac, Thiviers

 

A wolf attack is an attack on a human by a wolf or wolves. Wild wolves are naturally aggressive but are generally cautious enough to occasionally appear 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, but 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 or prey on people is much lower, indicating that though potentially dangerous, wolves are among the least threatening for their size and predatory potential.^[1]

Contents

• 1 Causes and types
• 2 Patterns and methods
• 3 Seven stages
• 4 History
  • 4.1 Europe
  • 4.2 North America
  • 4.3 Asia
• 5 List of fatal attacks
  • 5.1 21st century
  • 5.2 20th century
  • 5.3 19th century
  • 5.4 18th century
  • 5.5 Pre-18th century
• 6 Gallery
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 External links

Causes and types

Attacks due to provocation have occurred, usually involving shepherds defending their flocks, though none recorded fatalities.^[1] Unprovoked attacks by non-rabid wolves are rare, but have happened. The majority of victims of unprovoked healthy wolves tend to be women and children.^[1] 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 rather atypical behavior that single wolves or particular packs developed and maintained until they were killed.^[2]
Habituation is a known factor contributing to some wolf attacks which result from living close 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 food, or unintentionally, when people do not sufficiently intimidate them.^[1] 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.^[3]
Hybridization among 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.^[1]
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.^[1] 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 usually end after a fortnight.^[1][2] Much like some big cats,^[4] old or crippled wolves unable to tackle their normal prey have also been recorded to attack humans.^[5]

Patterns and methods

A recent Fennoscandian study on historic wolf attacks occurring in the 18th–19th centuries showed that victims were almost entirely children under the age of 12, with 85% of the attacks occurring when no adults were 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 two or three 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 two to ten days after the initial symptoms. Records from the former Soviet Union show 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.^[5]
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,^[1] though healthy wolves rarely attack frontally, having been shown to prefer to attack from behind.^[5] Some specialized man-eaters have been recorded to kill children by knocking them over from behind and biting the back of their heads and necks.^[6] The body of a victim from a healthy wolf attack, is often dragged off and consumed unless disturbed.^[1]