The EU now allows hunting wolves to protect livestock, but a study debunks the myth of “fearless wolves,” showing they still fear humans.
A Change in Status
In the merry month of May 2025, the European Parliament decided to shuffle the deck a bit and changed the status of wolves from ‘strictly protected’ to just ‘protected.’ This little adjustment opened the door for member states to allow hunting under certain conditions, such as when livestock needed saving from the jaws of our canine friends. The reasoning behind this was a curious notion that modern society’s tolerance had birthed a new breed of ‘fearless wolves.’ Regulators, however, couldn’t find a shred of scientific evidence to back this up, leaving folks scratching their heads.
Enter Michael Clinchy, a zoologist from Western University in London, Canada, who decided it was high time to settle this matter. He embarked on a first-of-its-kind study to determine if wolves had indeed lost their fear of humans. The results were as clear as a bell: wolves are still as skittish as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. There ain’t no such thing as a fearless wolf, proving once again that human assumptions often run wild without the reins of evidence.
The Myth of the Big Bad Wolf
Ah, the big bad wolf—a character as enduring as a politician’s promise, found in countless myths and fables. Little Red Riding Hood surely takes the cake as the most famous tale, painting wolves as the villains of the forest. This mythical fear, coupled with real damage to livestock, led to a hunting spree that nearly drove wolves to extinction in Western and Central Europe by the mid-20th century. Human-wolf encounters became as rare as hen’s teeth, and the myth of the big bad wolf faded into the background.
But come the 1970s, a change in the wind saw wolves protected across Europe and North America, allowing their numbers to rebound like a rubber ball. They began to reoccupy their old haunts, much to the chagrin of those still clutching their storybooks. Yet, the wolves of today are no more fearless than their ancestors, merely survivors navigating the patchwork of human influence and natural instinct.
The Tuchola Forest Study
Zanette and Clinchy took their scientific curiosity to the Tuchola Forest in northern Poland, one of the largest forests in Central Europe. Polish wolf protection laws took root in the 1990s, and by 2005, the first wolves were sighted in the forest. The first confirmed breeding happened in 2013, a testament to the resilience of nature when given half a chance. Today, the Tuchola Forest is home to over 15 wolf packs, with the total number of wolves in Poland reaching approximately 4,300 by 2022.
Their study revealed that wolves in Tuchola are still wary of humans, as nature intended. The notion of fearless wolves turned out to be as fanciful as a unicorn in a cornfield. Wolves, it seems, are as cautious as ever, proving that fear is a survival trait deeply embedded in their DNA. This dance of fear between humans and wolves continues, a delicate balance of coexistence and caution.
Reflections on Human Nature
Now, dear reader, if I may indulge in a bit of reflection, it seems to me that humans have a peculiar talent for conjuring fears and fictions out of thin air. We create myths to explain the world around us, and sometimes those myths take on a life of their own. The tale of the fearless wolf is but one of many. Yet, when we take the time to look closer, we often find that reality is far less dramatic than our imaginations would have us believe.
In my time, I’ve seen folks fret over things that never came to pass, while ignoring the very real challenges right under their noses. Perhaps it’s human nature to fear what we don’t understand, and to create stories to fill the gaps in our knowledge. But if we can learn to separate fact from fiction, we might just find a way to live in harmony with the world and its many creatures, wolves included.
