Settlers versus wolves

In recent times, wolves are considered symbols of wilderness. That was also the case during the early days of European settlement in North America. At that time, however, wilderness was seen as something to be overcome.

The new visitors brought with them a mythology that portrayed wolves as evil, based on the Bible and encounters with wolves by shepherds in Europe. In North America, they hunted the same large mammals that the wolves preyed upon which mostly left the farmers' livestock as potential food. This led to a system of bounties for killing wolves. The portrayal of wolves as evil justified brutal treatment of them.

A wolf bounty was in effect from 1793 until 1972 in Ontario, when it was ended due to public outcry! However, in Ontario, any hunter with a small game license can kill a wolf if it strays outside park borders; wolves are only protected in Algonquin and Lake Superior provincial parks and in two Crown game preserves. Hunting of wolves is also restricted in some areas bounding Algonquin park.

As the wolves were removed from some areas, the opportunistic coyote moved in. In more recent times, white-tailed deer have become a problem in places without their primary natural predator to control their numbers.

More Wolf History

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