Relationship With Humans
The way people relate to wolves has changed over time.
Different
cultures have respected or feared wolves for different reasons.
Click on the links below to learn how our fear of wolves in
the
United States has affected them, and how different stories you know
have an impact on our attitude toward wolves.
Stories About Bad Wolves
Endangered Wolves
Stories About Good
Wolves
Stories
About Bad Wolves
Starting a long time ago, Europeans were scared of wolves because they
were a threat to the animals humans raised on their farms.
They
started making wolves bad guys in stories that they told their children
and that children continue to be taught today. You probably
know
all about the Big Bad Wolf, who was the enemy of Little Red Riding Hood
and the Three Little Pigs. The story Peter and the Wolf
also spread the belief that wolves were evil and not to be trusted.
In more recent times, movies about werewolves have helped to
keep
this belief alive.
Endangered
Wolves
People in America changed wolves' habitats,
or homes, into farmland, towns and roads. Like their European
ancestors, they didn't like wolves because they ate their livestock.
Wolves needed to eat something because the settlers were
hunting
a lot of their prey, like deer and elk. The U.S. offered a bounty, or reward
for people to kill wolves. This made them nearly extinct in the U.S.
Later, people's attitudes toward wolves changed and they decided we
should protect wolves. Wolves were named an endangered species
in most places and it was illegal to kill them. Finally,
wolves
started to show up in some states again, and they were named threatened species,
which means that they are not as close to extinction as they once were.
Stories
About Good Wolves
You still hear tales about bad wolves, but lately there have been
stories with good wolves in them. This shows that our
attitude
toward wolves is still changing, and maybe we are learning not to be
afraid of them so much. You can learn a little more about
these
recent fictional wolves below.
The Wolf, Hoodwinked! (animated
movie)
Professor
Remus Lupin, Harry
Potter (book and movie series)
Link, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight
Princess (video game)
The
Wolf, Hoodwinked! (animated
movie)
Although he still doesn't have a name, this wolf isn't referred to as
"Big" or "Bad," because he isn't. He works as an undercover
reporter on a robbery case -- he's not a killer like in the original
"Red Riding Hood" story. Not only that, he has a great sense
of
humor.
Professor Remus
Lupin, Harry Potter
(book and movie series)
Professor Lupin is a werewolf, but is good-hearted and gentle (as long
as he's taken his potion). He's also very smart, funny, and
is a
good friend and mentor to Harry.
Link,
The Legend of Zelda:
Twilight Princess (video game)
In his latest adventure, the hero Link turns into a wolf at key points
in the game to help him on his mission to save the kingdom.
