# No Wolf Attacks on Humans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2007, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705 "2007-01-27T11:47:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/1 "2007-01-27T11:47:06Z")
Having some upcoming business in Alaska (new territory to us), a coworker claimed how there has never been a report of an incident of a wolf attacking a person. I don’t know why he thinks he’s the authority on this, and I find it hard to believe. Any SDopers know the SD on this? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/2 "2007-01-27T12:18:50Z")
While reading lumberjack pioneer accounts you run accross the wolve attacks. Normaly the attacks are in winter. Animal attacks happen to any species man interacts with. They may not be as likely to attack as an individual, but as a hungry pack they are fearless. Don’t believe the idiots that claim wolves don’t attack, they will say your an exeption when it happens, and it’s unheard of. It’s common enough to be watching what the heck you do when in an area with a wolf population. That goes for bears and the like also. [Death by wolf.](http://www.wolf.org/wolves/news/live_news_detail.asp?id=1340) [Wolf attacks man.](http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/01/04/sask-timberwolf050104.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/3 "2007-01-27T12:24:38Z")
I told the guy that his claim is only because those tasked to record such incidents were eaten by the wolves! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/4 "2007-01-27T12:56:55Z")
I rememer the guy that told everybody bears won’t hurt people and ignored warnings. Him and the girl friend were eaten. It’s a movie now so I can’t find the articles. They’ve all been submerged. [Timothy Treadwell a bear munch lunch](http://www.slate.com/id/2124360/) ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/5 "2007-01-27T13:16:19Z")
Two Indian cases: [In Uttar Pradesh during a 2-year period (1996–1997), a wolf or wolves killed or seriously injured 74 humans, mostly children under the age of 10 years (Mech 1998).](http://www.sinauer.com/groom/article.php?id=24) [In Bihar State sixty out of 80 children from 63 villages were attacked and killed by wolves from 1993 to 1995.](http://www.wolftrust.org.uk/a-wkp5-linnell-results.html) National Geographic had big piece on the predation of human children on on their TV program. [Most recently there has been a leopard in India suspected of preying on human children.](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243893,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/6 "2007-01-27T15:01:04Z")
The way this is usually phrased is heavily qualified. It is usually stated as "there have been no documented fatal attacks by a healthy wild wolf _in North America_. Wolves in Europe and Asia have been known to kill humans. I believe this qualified statement may actually be true, or at least was until recently. This is supported by this article, which is an account of the same attack described in **Harmonious Discord’s** first link: [First fatal wolf attack recorded in North America?](http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=16084) > [@](#): > > Conservationists have long assuaged the public’s fear of wolves by saying that there have been no documented instances of a healthy wild wolf killing a human being in North America. Until now, that is. > [@](#): > > Given that a handful of fatal wolf attacks have been recorded in India and Europe, experts say such an attack in North America has always been a possibility. But the odds are extraordinarily low, points out L. David Mech, a leading wolf biologist: “Wolves are still not any more dangerous than they ever were.” However, even this recent attack can’t be considered to be fully confirmed. The OP’s coworker no doubt has heard a distorted version of the qualified statement, or else misremembered it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/7 "2007-01-27T15:02:56Z")
Note that the “lumberjack accounts” mentioned by **Harmonious Discord** would probably not be considered by scientists to be “documented accounts.” ---
**Author:** ![Barrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Barrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrington)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/8 "2007-01-27T15:04:13Z")
If it’s any consolation, **Jinx** , I’ve heard a similar claim made on a TV documentary a few years ago - the only difference was that this something like “there isn’t a single recorded case of anyone being _killed_ by a wolf” (emphasis mine). It seems to be something of an UL. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/9 "2007-01-27T15:13:56Z")
Here’s the CBC report from the time of the event: [Wolf attack likely killed man, police say](http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2005/11/10/wolf-attack051110.html) > [@](#): > > The body of the 22-year-old man was found at Points North Landing near Wollaston Lake two days ago. The community is about 450 kilometres northeast of La Ronge. > > An autopsy indicated he was likely killed by animals, according to RCMP spokesperson Heather Russell. > > “All of the injuries discovered in the autopsy are consistent with animal bites. But you can’t completely rule everything out until the investigation is complete,” she said. > > Russell said the autopsy hasn’t confirmed what sort of animals attacked the man, but noted wolves have been sighted in the area and there were tracks – believed to be wolf tracks – around the body. > [@Jinx](#): > > I told the guy that his claim is only because those tasked to record such incidents were eaten by the wolves! 😉 There’s an element of truth to this, as the Wollaston Lake case suggests - one of the reason for the uncertainty is that the fellow was out alone, so there are no witnesses. The police and coroner are forced to make inferences, based on the nature of the wounds, the tracks in the snow, etc. And since wolves are pack animals, it’s far more likely that an attack would occur in those circumstances: a pack taking down a single person, rather than a pack attacking a group of people. ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/10 "2007-01-27T16:10:26Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] I rememer the guy that told everybody bears won’t hurt people and ignored warnings. Him and the girl friend were eaten. It’s a movie now so I can’t find the articles. They’ve all been submerged. [Timothy Treadwell a bear munch lunch](http://www.slate.com/id/2124360/) [/QUOTE] I wouldnt relate wolf attacks to grizzly attacks. I dont think anyone claims that grizzlies wont attack people – there are numerous documented cases of it. And whatever the guy in “the grizzly man” documentary said is also somewhat beside the point – he was clearly somewhat insane. But from what I have read, wolf attacks are much less likely (although certainly not impossible). ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/11 "2007-02-01T02:48:48Z")
This cite is from the [National Parks Service fact sheet](http://www.nps.gov/archive/olym/issues/isswolf.htm) about wolves on the Olympic Peninsula: > [@](#): > > 1. Will wolves attack people? > > Like that of any wild animal, wolf behavior can never be completely predicted. However, the history of interactions between wolves and people in North America clearly indicates that the risk to humans from wild wolves is practically nonexistent. Millions of people recreate without incident in wolf habitat in Canada, Alaska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and more recently, the Yellowstone area. **There has never been a documented case of a healthy wild wolf seriously injuring or killing a human being in North America.** In contrast, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have documented a total of 301 human deaths from domestic dog attacks in the United States during the years 1979 through 1996. Bolding mine. This is the statement that I’ve heard distorted into “wolves never kill people.” Note, it’s healthy, wild wolves in North America. Overall, I’d say humans have nothing to fear from wolves around here, that’s safe to say. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/12 "2007-02-01T03:03:13Z")
I remember reading this “fact” in a book when I was a child. There was even a claim that a Canadian newspaper, based in Ontario (in Sault Ste Marie?) had had a longstanding reward on offer for proof of an attack by a wolf and had never had to pay out the reward. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2007, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/13 "2007-02-01T05:57:59Z")
The other thing about that qualified statement is, how do you prove the animal was healthy? If I came across a situation of a wolf attacking a human, I would at least assume that the wolf wasn’t entirely right in the head. Humans are (or can be) pretty dangerous animals, and wolves are smart enough to have learned that long ago. Absent any other evidence, I’d consider the attack itself a pretty good indicator that the wolf wasn’t healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/14 "2007-02-01T13:09:17Z")
Experts always put in qualifier’s and hope people will assume that the statement is true for all cases, and it isn’t. Wolves kill and maim people all the time. The question wasn’t only about killing either. It was about attacking and they attack people way to many times, for people to not be wary in habitat with wolves or other carnivorous animals. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/15 "2007-02-01T17:16:58Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] Wolves kill and maim people all the time. [/QUOTE] I’d like to see some unbiased cites for that claim, and also an explanation to “all the time”, which seems to me that you’re meaning it’s an everyday occurance. Of course, you could be meaning something else. If so, please clarify. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/16 "2007-02-01T17:23:51Z")
[QUOTE=Charlie Tan] I’d like to see some unbiased cites for that claim, and also an explanation to “all the time”, which seems to me that you’re meaning it’s an everyday occurance. Of course, you could be meaning something else. If so, please clarify. [/QUOTE] All the time to mean at any time they wish, since it’s up to them, so no time is to be excluded from when they are dangerous. There are alread links of attacks posted, so why would I bother to look for more, since they won’t apparently be from somebody you trust. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/17 "2007-02-01T17:50:40Z")
#1. Wolves are mammals. #2. Wolves kill and maim people _all the time_! #3. They better not go after my French Fries! ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/18 "2007-02-01T18:13:41Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] All the time to mean at any time they wish, since it’s up to them, so no time is to be excluded from when they are dangerous. There are alread links of attacks posted, so why would I bother to look for more, since they won’t apparently be from somebody you trust. [/QUOTE] Yes you did. I checked those and you provided cites for two incidents, one were wolves were “suspected”. Further digging at the sites you linked to revealed some interesting pdf:s one which managed to find a grand dozen wolf attacks on humans (fatal and non fatal) during the 20th century in all of North America. The authour notes: > [@](#): > > The fact that individual aggressive encounters with wolves (even without injury, e.g. Scott et al, 1985) is considered worthy of publication in the scientific literature is an indication of the rarity of such events. Remember this is your own cite. Your broad brush statement “Wolves kill and maim humans all the time” then in fact meant (using your own cites and explanation about “all the time”): Wolves kill and maim humans whenever it damn pleases them. In fact, it’s happened on average about once ever nine years in all of North America, during the 20th century". Glad I got that cleared up. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/19 "2007-02-01T18:49:11Z")
[QUOTE=misterW] I wouldnt relate wolf attacks to grizzly attacks. I dont think anyone claims that grizzlies wont attack people – there are numerous documented cases of it. And whatever the guy in “the grizzly man” documentary said is also somewhat beside the point – he was clearly somewhat insane. But from what I have read, wolf attacks are much less likely (although certainly not impossible). [/QUOTE] Treadwell was clearly buggered in the head (not just from his advocacy of the gentleness of bears, but his other behavior as documented in _Grizzly Man_) but the fact is that the frequency and overall number of attacks by brown or grizzly bears (_Ursus arctos_ and _U. a. horribilis_ resepctively) are vastly less than most people would expect, and the significant per capita attacks by the North American Black Bear _Ursus americanus_) are negligable, particularly given suburban encroachment and the often close proximity of bears to human habitation. Wikipedia has a proportedly complete [list of fatal bear attacks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America_by_decade) in the 20th and 21st century, but I haven’t backchecked this to confirm. Despite black bears living in more diverse environments and being vastly better represented across the North American continents, they don’t show proportionally more attacks than browns. Wolves are pack animals that (generally) engage in cursorial hunting of herd prey. They are certainly physically capable of taking down a human being, but at least the wolf species of North America generally demonstrate extreme wariness toward any animal in an upright posture, probably due to evolutionary pressures to avoid encounters with much larger and more dangerous predators like the recently extinct big cats of genus [_smilodon_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilodon) and [_homotherium_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homotherium), the brown bear, and the [Short-Faced Bear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctodus), all of which attack from an upright bipedal or leaping posture. However, all of these animals are wild, and to paraphrase Charlotte Brontë, most things freeborn will submit to anything for food. If they’re hungry or injured, and the best source of food is one of those noisy hairless bear cubs, then they’ll attack and feed. But this seems to be an extreme of behavior that they don’t typically engage in. Stranger ---
**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:** [February 1, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705/20 "2007-02-01T19:49:33Z")
> [@](#): > > but at least the wolf species of North America generally demonstrate extreme wariness toward any animal in an upright posture, probably due to evolutionary pressures to avoid encounters with much larger and more dangerous predators like the recently extinct big cats of genus smilodon and homotherium, the brown bear, and the Short-Faced Bear, all of which attack from an upright bipedal or leaping posture. Or perhaps even due to evolutionary pressures to avoid _us_. We’ve been coexisting with wolves for a while now, and a human with a pointy stick is at least formidable enough to make a wolf pay dearly for its meal. Yes, a wolf encounter should be considered a dangerous situation, but the key is that wolves don’t like those encounters either, and make a reasonable effort to avoid us whenever possible. And one statistic I’m absolutely certain of, is no human ever got attacked by a wolf that was a mile away at the time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-wolf-attacks-on-humans/389705.md?page=2)