# "If you feed the wolves you will destroy them" - Please explain this statement for me. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057 "2009-09-06T12:33:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/1 "2009-09-06T12:33:48Z")
[An arctic researcher’s camp got overrun](http://www.canada.com/news/national/Arctic+researcher+flees+after+wolves+gorge+bacon/1964535/story.html) by some scavenging wolves when a food cache that should have been buried was left out in the open. Now she says it is unlikely they can ever go back because the wolves ate human bacon and sausage. What exactly is she saying with this phrase? “If you feed the wolves you will destroy them”. I imagine they rather enjoyed the bacon. > [@](#): > > A University of Alberta researcher was surrounded by wolves, had to cancel her research season and be evacuated from the high Arctic earlier this summer after a pilot with an ecotourism agency left cardboard boxes of bacon and sausage on the tundra near their camp. The wolves ripped open the boxes of meat and gorged themselves. > > Three days later, La Farge woke up at 4 a.m. to a wolf howling. Outside her tent, the three wolves had torn into the boxes and strewn food and debris across the tundra. She and Wilkie scared them off, and spent an hour and half picking up the mess and storing the garbage bags in their kitchen tent — but by 8 a.m. the wolves were back. > > … > > Again they scared the wolves away, but they hunkered down within sight of the camp. By 11:30 a.m. the wolves returned to the campsite and came within 10 metres of the kitchen tent where both the researchers were standing. > > One walked between the kitchen tent and a sleeping tent, then laid down in the sun. The two others kept searching the ground for food scraps, finding a bag of sausage. La Farge called emergency operators at the Polar Continental Shelf Program, packed up quickly and was gone by 4 p.m. “The danger of course is for everyone else who follows,” said La Farge, wondering if she will ever be able to go back to the spot with only a two-person team. “If you feed the wolves you will destroy them.” ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/2 "2009-09-06T13:02:37Z")
The problem is that it’s a lot easier to bring down a box of sausages than a caribou, so the wolves may become more inclined to look for other humans they can scavenge from than for animals to hunt, and they will end up less afraid of humans if they connect them with easy meals. Now, I don’t know how likely it is to occur from one isolated incident, but in the past this has become an issue with bears in national parks that see a lot of tourists. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/3 "2009-09-06T13:05:59Z")
It probably means that these wolves (being extremely smart about food and how to get it, as all wolves are) will henceforth associate people with food (bacon!). This pretty well guarantees confrontations with anyone who shows up in that area, and such confrontations are likely to end badly for the wolves. ---
**Author:** ![Moonshiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@Moonshiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonshiner)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/4 "2009-09-06T14:07:48Z")
> [@astro](#): > > …human bacon and sausage. Hmm. All I ever see in the supermarkets around here are _pork_ bacon and sausage 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/5 "2009-09-06T14:27:50Z")
> [@Moonshiner](#): > > Hmm. All I ever see in the supermarkets around here are _pork_ bacon and sausage > > 😃 I just assumed there was a comma missing there. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/6 "2009-09-06T16:31:15Z")
You may have missed a part of the article, or you’ve read a different article than I did yesterday. These wolves, in particular, are having diarrhea all around, and are searching for more tasty human provided food, in spite of the trots. You would avoid a food source that gave you the trots, but not the wolves. So there is a definite, short term problem for this particular pack of wolves, because of this bacon. And then there’s the usual problem with wild animals that get into human food, which others have mentioned above. Instead of hunting, they’ll just attack the next group of humans they see, for their delicious bacon. I suppose, one could argue that it’s our decision to kill off these “bad behaving” wolves, when it’s human intervention that started the whole problem, but yeah, kinda inevitable when you feed the wild animals. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/7 "2009-09-06T16:48:55Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > You would avoid a food source that gave you the trots, but not the wolves. I don’t think this is something wolves care much about. An unfamiliar food may produce some digestive issues, but if it’s a useful source of energy, that’s all that really matters. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/8 "2009-09-06T16:56:30Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I don’t think this is something wolves care much about. An unfamiliar food may produce some digestive issues, but if it’s a useful source of energy, that’s all that really matters. Uh … yeah … and dehydration, and the definition of isotonic shock are likely not well included in “instinctive behavior” so yeah, they likely enjoyed the bacon like O.P. said, and then had obvious short term health repercussions they may not be aware of, in addition to really abstract wildlife management issues. I’m sure many of us would love some buffalo wing chicken, served slightly pink inside\* … once. But not more than once. \*Someone saw that episode, right? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/9 "2009-09-06T17:33:24Z")
I thought wolves didn’t really attack people, that that was just bad press. So we were right to fear them? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/10 "2009-09-06T17:52:28Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I thought wolves didn’t really attack people, that that was just bad press. So we were right to fear them? Especially if you have bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/11 "2009-09-06T17:53:14Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Especially if you have bacon. Well, if you had the most perfectly made side of bacon, I think even hogs would be circling you ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/12 "2009-09-06T18:27:07Z")
Even if the wolves don’t attack people, just hanging around people is likely to get them shot. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/13 "2009-09-06T18:43:05Z")
Weren’t dogs basically wolves that people started feeding? Without people, dogs can’t make it in the natural world anymore. ---
**Author:** ![633squadron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/ee59a6/32.png) [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/14 "2009-09-06T19:19:03Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [An arctic researcher’s camp got overrun](http://www.canada.com/news/national/Arctic+researcher+flees+after+wolves+gorge+bacon/1964535/story.html) > What exactly is she saying with this phrase? “If you feed the wolves you will destroy them”. I imagine they rather enjoyed the bacon. A bit of rhetorical hyperbole, probably. Nevertheless, there’s some evidence that suggests that opportunistic predators/omnivores will get too accustomed to raiding human camps if they eat human food. This may lead to behavior that’s dangerous to humans, and a response of killing the animals. This is well-known in American national parks such as Yosemite, where bears routinely raid camps looking for food. Over the years they’ve learned that humans = food. The _lucky_ bears mostly stay away. The unlucky ones become nuisances, and the NPS relocates them into the wild. If they come back, game over for bear. Unfair to the bear? Certainly. And sad. The NPS is as much to blame as anyone. In the “good ol’ days” the NPS set up _bleachers_ next to the trash bins so that visitors could watch the bears. Now the bears are paying the price. Do wolves eat people? Probably. Are we a staple of their diet? Probably not. Wolves are certainly territorial, so they’ll attack humans. When no food is around, they’ll probably eat anything that’s meat. Do bears eat people. My _guess_ is that a bear would attack a human trying to take away its food, or a human that seemed threatening. Once the human was dead, the bear might eat it. Probably a very rare occurrence. Large predators are instinctively territorial and opportunistic. Be aware. Large omnivores (bears) eat _anything_; they’re machines for ingesting stuff. The ones that are bigger than humans will certainly fight a human for food. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/15 "2009-09-06T20:21:40Z")
A recent case of [a fed bear is a dead bear](http://www.thisistrue.com/blog-bear_country.html). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/16 "2009-09-06T20:32:43Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > You would avoid a food source that gave you the trots, but not the wolves. I’d also avoid a food source that gave me the wolves 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/17 "2009-09-07T05:06:14Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Without people, dogs can’t make it in the natural world anymore. The millions of feral dogs inhabiting the planet all say you are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/18 "2009-09-07T05:20:05Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > The millions of feral dogs inhabiting the planet all say you are wrong. Aren’t they mostly scavengers who eat our garbage? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/19 "2009-09-07T05:21:48Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Aren’t they mostly scavengers who eat our garbage? If by “our garbage” you mean mice, rats, sheep, deer, kangaroos and antelope then yes. ---
**Author:** ![cplif](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/48db29/32.png) [@cplif](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cplif)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057/20 "2009-09-07T06:09:15Z")
I don’t know much about wolves, except for a very good (old) canadian movie that says they eat mice, but the bear problem is quite demonstrative, ie a bear doesn’t make much of a difference between a proferred sandwich and the arm that offers it, for instance through a car window. I do not know if it is by choice, clumsiness or taste, but bear cutlery is quite well adapted to human extremities. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-feed-the-wolves-you-will-destroy-them-please-explain-this-statement-for-me/509057.md?page=2)