When wolves and humans first trusted each other is lost in time, but wolves have been part of art and stories for as long as they have existed. Many Native Americans tamed wild wolves to use them to carry their goods and help them hunt. They even tried to mimic the behavior of wolves since they admired them. The Native Americans believed in the brotherhood of Wolf and Human. But fairy tales, fables, myths, and of course, human superstition, will ruin the admiration of wolves.
History in the United States
Their used to be thousands of wolves running wild and free across America in large packs with no threat,until the 1900’s. The U.S. Government decided to create a nationwide wolf control in the 1960’s because wolves were seen as pests and a danger to society. Theodore Roosevelt even declared the wolf as “the beast of waste and destruction.” The people of the U.S. believed they were serving God by getting rid of wolves in the countryside. Sadly, the nationwide wolf control wiped out most of the wolves leaving the once popular grey wolf on the brink of extinction. The little amount of 300 wolves left in the 48 lower states lived deep in the woods of Michigan and Minnesota. These wolves survived by running away at the first sight of humans. The wolf war ended in 1960 and man won, but shortly after in 1970 hunters still searched for wolves in the Great Lakes region. Minus the hunter’s efforts to get rid of the wolf, the remaining Timber wolves held their ground and starting making a comeback. In the 1970’s there were reports of wolves farther from the Canadian border. The rest of the wolf’s gained attention and concern, so adding them to the Endangered Species list was being discussed.
At the same time the Mexican grey wolves were under attack and kept disappearing. 1980 marked the extinction of the wild Mexican grey wolf in the U.S. and Mexico. The last 4 males and 1 female were captured and put into a breeding program by the Endangered Species Act.
Like grey wolves, the red wolves were hunted to extinction. In 1980 red wolves only survived only threw captivity because the scientists wanted to preserve the precious genetic diversity. Red wolves are a completely different species from the grey wolf, being that they are smaller with a reddish coat and the appearance of a grey wolf-coyote hybrid. In historic times the red wolf was thought to live across and the east coast and southeast of the U.S. In 1990 the first red wolves were reintroduced to North Carolina. The red wolves started making a comeback with the help of humans. The grey wolves started making a comeback of their own. In the Great Lakes, the wolf population continued to grow, spreading into northern Wisconsin.
The grey wolves took a huge step in recovery by crossing the Canadian border into Glacier National Park, Montana. In celebration of this event, the pack was called the “Magic Pack”. By 1990 Montana’s Magic Pack had company in form of the other packs migrating down from Canada.
The first wild wolf packs were formed by wolves born on the Glacier National Park soil. First reports of wolf sightings in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State started coming in. Now the U.S. could boast a possible population of wolves in 7 states including Alaska. After years of political battling ranchers finally supported releasing 31 Canadian wolves into Yellowstone and 23 into Frank Church Wilderness of Idaho. Literature
Wolves are featured in many of Aesop’s Fables. A couple famous ones being “The Shepherd Boy and The Wolf ”and “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.” Other than these there are 24 fables with or about a wolf. Many of these portray the wolf character as a fool who tried to be sly but failed, but others have the wolf character disgusted or afraid of human behavior. Aesop often writes wolves with lambs, dogs, foxes, horses, lions, goats, apes, and of course humans. Wolves are mostly in fables that are about trickery. Occasionally the wolf looses, but their have been times where he out smarted someone.
While Fables are popular, stories passed down from generations have also included wolves in the history of writing. The best examples would be “The Three Little Pigs” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” Both famous fairytales that have been rewritten many times with different variations.
Myths have a huge impact on how people see wolves. Most often myths and legends drive people to hating wolves rather than loving them. Wolves are seen as a symbol of evil, so in most myths it is not a surprise that wolves are often tyrants. While today werewolves are loved in many book series, in the past they set a bad image for real wolves.