Ecology

Wolves: where fear, mythology, and ecology intersect

Anne Gageby
Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve

(1/2023) Full Wolf Moon will peak this Friday, January 6th. The first full moon of the new year is named for the elusive and terrifyingly beautiful animals that once roamed the Pennsylvania woods in unimaginable numbers. Sadly, it’s been over a hundred years since the last gray wolf was spotted in our state. Mystery, fear, and misconceptions resulted in campaigns that destroyed wolf populations along the East Coast, not just Pennsylvania. The gray wolves’ elimination serves as both an ecological and societal warning, one specially stained by folklore.

Nearly every culture around the world has stories of humans turning into animals by way of magic. Stories abound of humans turning into lions, leopards, crocodiles, and so on. This metamorphosis could be accomplished by smearing oneself with a magic balm, wearing an animal skin, donning a magic belt, or as is the case with some European werewolf legends, drinking from a wolf’s tracks under a full moon. In almost all cases, the animal involved in this magic is something to be feared – an apex predator.

Scots-Irish and German settlers brought folktales that shaped their views on the very forests they would soon inhabit. Their collective stories included tales of wolfmen lurking amongst the trees, cursed mercenaries paid in human blood, and documented wolf attacks. This complicated relationship with the natural world wove fear into mythology and accepted it as reality.

To early settlers, wolves were intimidating in a way bears and bobcats weren’t. For starters, wolves are the largest wild canid species with powerful jaws, and they hunt in packs. They are relentless and fast, usually traveling 5 miles an hour, but can reach speeds of up to 40 miles an hour. Though eastern gray wolves preferred avoidance and tended to be nocturnal, their howls must have seemed almost ghostly in the dark of night.

Throughout the centuries, wolf attacks on humans, though relatively rare, have been well-documented across the globe. For example, from 1764-1767, wolves were reported to have killed at least 100 people in the Gevaudan region of France. These attacks were documented in parish records and by noted historians of the time, even the king of France. Though it is one of the best documented instances of wolf attacks in Western Europe, there is still doubt that wolves were involved at all. Modern interpretations of contemporary descriptions often point to dog-wolf hybrids or large breed dogs.

According to documented wolf attacks in Europe, the most common cause was rabies. Rabid wolf attacks were generally destructive, expansive, and limited to a 24-48 hour window. A rabid wolf could travel through several villages in a day, attacking dozens of people and livestock before perishing. Word of these attacks spread fear and misunderstanding, adding to the already sinister impression Europeans had of wolves long before they set foot in the new world.

To the early settlers, Pennsylvania’s forests probably looked like something from a dark fairytale. Elk and wolves roamed the Northeastern woods alongside the more familiar deer, bear, and bobcats. Dense tree growth teeming with wildlife and opportunity must have been more than a little intimidating for those who ventured here. Settlers were faced with an unimaginable landscape, unfamiliar and imposing.

The old-growth forests were so dense that it was said a squirrel could travel hundreds of miles along a highway of interlocking branches and never need to touch the ground. American chestnuts, now considered functionally extinct, once dominated our state. They regularly grew well over 120 ft tall and more than 10 ft in diameter. Massive hemlocks grew thick trunks large enough for a car to drive through. White pines could reach nearly 100 ft.

Rather quickly, settlers began radically changing the landscape as they cut down trees for timber and farming. They built milldams across the state, effectively turning areas of wetlands into precise streams. This environmental change affected the flora and fauna inhabiting these areas. Deforestation led to habitat loss and dwindling resources. By the late 1800s, unregulated trapping and hunting caused beaver and elk to be eradicated from our local ecosystems. Hunting dropped deer populations to nearly zero. With the destruction of beaver, elk, and deer populations, eastern gray wolves were forced to rely on easier prey – livestock such as sheep and goats. Farmers’ long-held beliefs in the "evilness" of wolves was compounded by the threat to their livelihoods. As wolves encroached upon human settlements, people were reminded of old tales of wolfmen lurking in the shadows. The threat to body and soul was never clearer.

It didn’t take long for settlers to strike down the wolf populations. They had brought with them a tradition of killing wolves, after all. Britain eliminated the last of its wolf populations in the 17th century. Ireland followed suit in the 18th century. Hunting and trapping wolves was not only allowed in early Pennsylvania but encouraged. Farmers and hunters discovered poisoned bait was easier and generally safer for culling wolf populations quickly. Some towns enacted bounties and paid for every dead wolf brought in, a lucrative prospect for those in need of cash.

It was decidedly easy for settlers and government officials to support the eradication of wolves. Human-wolf conflict is a story as old as civilization itself no matter which continent you’re on. It’s only been recently accepted that wolves are a keystone species and therefore are necessary for a healthy ecosystem. And yet, some beliefs are so ingrained it’s almost impossible to excise them completely.

European tradition holds wolves in odd esteem. On one hand, wolves are beautiful, near mythical and perversely fascinating. On the other, they are a scourge, destructive and dangerous to humans, as likely to snatch a person as a sheep. Ecologists, folklorists, and historians often point out that it’s simply not in wolves’ natures to treat humans as prey. Because wolf attacks are an aberration, folktales are often imbued with some sort of magical element to explain it – werewolves, shape-shifting killers, evil spirits, etc. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, European tradition emphasized the "evilness" of werewolves and shapeshifter stories, adding to the notions of magic and fear of the natural world. These stories aligned with and highlighted the veritable threat wolves posed to farmers’ livestock. In adding these elements, it takes a difficult and terrifying subject and makes it a little easier to comprehend. However, when those stories are allowed to bloom and grow, real wolves suffer the consequences.

Anne Gageby is the Environmental Education Manager of the Strawberry Hill Foundation. Strawberry Hill inspires stewardship of our natural world by
connecting the community with educational opportunities.
 Learn more by visiting StrawberryHill.org.