Wolves rarely attack people: a global review counted 489 victims and 26 deaths between 2002 and 2020, most from rabid wolves. Risk rises where wolves lose wild…
Ancient wolves began living alongside hunter-gatherers. Their descendants became dogs, humanity's first domesticated animal.
Farming made wolves livestock killers, and some killed people. In 1876 alone, 2,825 wolves were paid for in the North-Western Provinces and Bihar.
By the 1930s wolves were gone from almost all of the lower 48 US states. Yellowstone had no breeding wolves for nearly 70 years.
India put the wolf in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972; the US Endangered Species Act followed in 1973.
The population peaked at about 174 in 2003. Wolves changed elk behaviour, though their effect on rivers is still debated.
Rarely dangerous. 380 of 489 victims were bitten by rabid wolves. Europe and North America saw just 14 victims.
A pack of six wolves attacked villages in Mahsi tehsil. Five were captured; villagers killed the sixth on 6 October.
About 20,000 wolves now live in Europe. The wolf moved from strictly protected to protected, making culls easier.
About 3,093 in India and Pakistan. One of the oldest wolf lineages, it may be a distinct species.
After attacks resumed in 2025, officials protected dens and curbed activity pushing wolves toward villages.
It tells the Interior Secretary to decide by early December whether wolves can lose Endangered Species Act protection.
Lasse Huldt Pedersen recalls a wolf holding his gaze for minutes near the Swedish border. Norway has fewer than 100 wolves.
Keep your distance, never feed it, keep children close, stand tall and back away slowly. Do not run. Treat any bite as a rabies risk.
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