Myths and false perceptions about wolves abound. Very few wolf ‘stories’
are based on fact. As a result of the spread of these myths, wolves have been persecuted
for thousands of years. 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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There is no documented case of a
healthy wild wolf killing a human in North America. 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 need large wilderness to survive. 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. |
