Notorious Villain of Fable and Fairytale, the Wolf is a highly
intelligent and sociable animal with strong family bonds.
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The wolf was once the most common, and also the most dreaded, wild animal of the northern lands. Its bad image is, however, an undeserved one. Hunted and feared by man for centuries, the wolf was commonly held to be an evil associate of the devil, partial to attacking and killing humans.
Nowadays, people are less inclined to believe in werewolves and the wolf's supernatural powers, but many still believe them to be man-eaters. Discounting occasions in history when hungry wolves are said to have raided the aftermath of battlefields to eat human carrion, and the occasional attack by a rabid wolf deprived of its normal senses, nothing could be further from the truth. |
Wolves are extremely shy of humans and will go to great lengths to avoid them. Even naturalists who have spent years searchng for wolves to study them properly can report only very rare sightings.
A far cry from the evil, slavering, man-eating beast of legend, the wolf is one of the most intelligent and sociable of animals, living and hunting in a family-based pack. Surprisingly, all domestic dogs -- from the German Shepherd to the poodle -- are descended from the wolf. |