Myths and false perceptions about wolves abound in popular culture
and have resulted in the persecuting of wolves for thousands of years.
Very few stories or fables involving wolves are based on fact. One
of the goals of the Wolves Ontario! project is to educate the public
about the truths about wolves. |
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Wolves
will eliminate or reduce traditional game species (deer & moose)
as well as other furbearers (beaver). |
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Wolves, large
grazing animals, and beaver have successfully lived side by side for
thousands of years. It is only when the first Europeans arrived
in North America that this balanced co-existence changed. When prey
species drop in number because of food availability or weather conditions,
wolf numbers drop as well. Wolves have smaller litters or may even
starve to death. |
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Humans
are attacked and killed by wolves all the time. |
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Wolf attacks
are extremely rare. There has only been one documented case
of healthy wild wolves killing a human in North America. It is believed
that these animals were habituated to garbage. By comparison, domestic
dogs attack 3 million and kill 20 people each year. Wild non-socialized
wolves fear humans and are rarely seen. |
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Wolves
kill thousands of livestock each year, forcing farmers out of business. |
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Though there
are no official records for Ontario (government officials unfortunately
do not differentiate between coyote and wolf predation on livestock),
the number of livestock killed in Alberta averages 55 animals per
year. Under the provincial government’s Livestock, Poultry,
and Honey Bee Protection Act, farmers are compensated for livestock
lost to predation. By increasing the amount of compensation, wolf
kills by farmers would more likely be reported and total wolf kills
by farmers would be reduced. |
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A
large percentage of wolves have rabies |
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Paranoia still
exists around the idea of rabid wolves. Contrary to popular belief,
very few wolves contract rabies. Most incidents of rabies
occur in raccoons, skunks, foxes or bats. In Alberta in 1952, one
rabid wolf was discovered. As a result of paranoia, in the next four
years, 4,200 wolves were poisoned. As well, over 50,000 foxes, 35,000
coyotes, and 1,850 bears also were killed by this non-target poisoning. |
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Wolves
live in Toronto and in other southern Ontario cities. |
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Wolves are
very shy of humans and have been pushed further north in Ontario because
of urban sprawl and development. There are coyotes in Toronto
and other southern cities – these should not be mistaken for
wolves. As cities expand and our wilderness areas are destroyed, wolf
populations will suffer. The Wolves Ontario! project seeks to stop
this growing threat. |
