Why are we afraid of them?

Fierceclaw · Post by **Fierceclaw** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:30 pm

Wolves by Fierceclaw

Wolves are always depicted mad,bloodthirst killers with no heart or soul and i hate it when people really think about them that way.

I think of wolves loving, caring, the way they really are, they wouldn't hurt or kill something without a reason for doing it, and a good reason, too, like to survive . Unlike how we ,humans , just kill for the fun of it and don't care for other animals lives, we think we are so superior to other animals,when we in fact are exactly like them , sure we may have more developed brains but what does that matter if we don't use them for good and not evil, that we so commonly use them for. I really wish I had had the choice to be human or not if I ever had the chance to be a wolf ,or anything other than human, I would take it in under a milisecond.

I wish to know why wolves aare always veiwed that way, is it because of childrens' stories like Little Red Riding Hood or The Boy Who Cried Wolf, or is it because we see a wild freedom in them we can never have. Do we think of them like this because we are jealous, jealous of the wild beautiful freedom that nothing can take away from them. Do many veiw them that way because of that jealousy or because of genuine fear, I don't know how they could genuinely fear such a magestic regal animal maybe it is in fact because of false stories that the jealous onees make up, maybe it is because the filled their heads with all of those false stories.

I really want to know the truth about why so many of us humans fear wolves, jealousy,false stories that filled us with fear, or genuine fear. If anyone knows the answer please let me know.
Thanks
-Fierceclaw

Croix · Post by **Croix** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:41 pm

Really I think humans began to be afraid of wolves because we simply didn't know anything about them, hundreds (possibly thousands) of years ago we were hunting the same animals as they were, and probably say what they were capable of and developed a fear of them, thinking that they would end up doing the same to us.
Now that we know more about them, most people know that they are not stone cold killers, they have compassion and they care about their family members, but when someone hears of a wolf attacking a human (which is very rare) they assume that it was a healthy, clear-minded beast looking for blood. But that's rarely the case. Stories like the "Big Bad Wolf" and "Little Red Riding Hood" don't help much either, Little Red wasn't actually about a wolf at all, but now we have completely blown it out of proportion with movies and books.
Humans should start giving them wolves their own space, for they can kill us when we don't have any weapons, sure, we have brains over bronze, but we don't realise how many natural things can actually kill us, and that demands a lot of respect and thought, which people don't do very often anymore. So what if they haven't adapted, grown opposable thumbs, and learned to walk on two legs, we still don't know everything there is about wolves, and we probably wont for a long time.
Really, wolves are just as curious as humans and want to survive just as we do, why can't we respect that?

Canidae · Post by **Canidae** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:17 pm

I think a major reason that people are afraid of wolves is simply because other people are afraid of wolves. It's the same reason why people are commonly afraid of snakes, spiders, rats, etc. Most people have had many, many encounters with people that are afraid of wolves, therefore they begin to reason that wolves must be something to fear. Likewise, characters in films, cartoons, etc. are often afraid of wolves, and the people that view these programs begin to think wolves are scary as well.

If every cartoon, tv show, and movie were to claim that walruses are evil and scary, then I'd be willing to bet that lots of people would think the same thing. And this would set off a chain reaction...as time went on, more and more people would become afraid of walruses.

Of course, wolves are much worse off, due to all of the persecution and hatred that people exhibit toward them, as well. Wolves have really had an unfortunate past.

Post by **Koa** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:45 pm

I know that if I came across a wolf in real life without a fence in between the wolf and me, (an unexpected encounter) then yeah, I'd honestly be scared. I mean, you just don't know how the wolf will react to your presence, right? Same would go for let's say, a cheetah or a hyena, and for some, like Canidae pointed out - spiders, snakes, and the like. You know how if (it could be you or someone you know) a person screams if they see a spider and starts running around.

Now, I don't hate wolves or anything or think they are "evil." But they are animals, and animals can be a bit scary sometimes in general simply because they are so unpredictable. So, I can understand the general pool of fear surrounding wolves, but not when it is exaggerated to an extreme extent.

Expanding more on my take of the fear hype (with regards to the "chain of emotions") I think just the thought of an encounter with something that, can possibly hurt you, and the general media surrounding wolves has grown this fear of wolves into massive amounts.

I think that was a lot of mindless rambling, so I'll leave it at that for now.

Fierceclaw · Post by **Fierceclaw** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 10:13 pm

Thanks for your thoughts and i am grateful that i am not alone in my thinking.
True i might be just a bit scared too if i came face to face with a wolf, but that isn't the point.Some people don't know the tiniest little fact about wolves and yet the still think that they are truely just killlers that would do anything just for a taste of human blood. Some of them may have never even seen a wolf before, not in the wild but i mean like not at all , and yet they have the audacity to think thay are stone cold human killers, and that makes me extremely mad. I just hope and pray that one day the whole world will recognize not only wolves but a lot of other animals that are depicted wrongly for what they really are, animals just like us stuck in this big world struggling to survive even without humans always trying to kill or hurt them over a story about them that probrably isn't true. I really hope that and, believe every word written here.
-Fierceclaw

oxoDestinyoxo · Post by **oxoDestinyoxo** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:30 pm

Wolves are an animal that survives off killing. Sure, that doesn't make them evil, but they are still something to fear. Coming face to face with a wild wolf is something to be scared of. You don't know of it's past. It would run from you more likely than attack you. Like with most animals, their more scared of us, but what we do... our first reaction is to run or scream. If you see a shark in the water, you scream and probably swim away as fast as you can. We have expanded our land and have destroyed the wolves, and their last resort is taking refuge with us, killing our cattle and such. It's one of a farmer's worst nightmares to wake up in the morning and see a cow or another important part of his stock dead and half-eaten. I like wolves, but if I came to that sight, I would shoot the first wolf I saw near my farm. That's a reaction of fear it'll happen again.

Wolf attacks are unfortunately more common these days. They have lost their fears of us almost entirely, and we are no longer a big bad threat. This is what triggers the fear, what we thought we could scare off has turned the tables and is now scaring us.

Canidae · Post by **Canidae** » Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:05 am

oxoDestinyoxo wrote:what we thought we could scare off has turned the tables and is now scaring us.

Brilliantly said. I wholeheartedly agree with this.

Zemie · Post by **Zemie** » Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:10 pm

I actually don't think most people are scared of wolves anymore. Most people I've met seem to like them a lot. Perhaps it’s just because I live in a suburban area where there are no wolves to be afraid of, but that wouldn't explain why most people I've seen on the internet like them. Just look at all the wolf artwork and clubs on sites like Deviantart.

Croix · Post by **Croix** » Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:38 pm

Zemie wrote:I actually don't think most people are scared of wolves anymore. Most people I've met seem to like them a lot. Perhaps it’s just because I live in a suburban area where there are no wolves to be afraid of, but that wouldn't explain why most people I've seen on the internet like them. Just look at all the wolf artwork and clubs on sites like Deviantart.

Actually a lot of people are still scared of them, there may be websites and groups about how great wolves can be, but there are also ones who want to terminate wolves because they think they are pests, and some people just don't think it'll make any impact if they get killed off. If you talk to farmers where wolves are common, they will tell you stories about their livestock being killed off and of course they will want to shoot and kill any wolf they see.
Wolves can be unpredictable, just as any other animal can be, tamed or not. And because they can't be controlled there is always a reason to fear them.

Fierceclaw · Post by **Fierceclaw** » Tue Mar 22, 2011 10:36 pm

Yes i do think that maybe many are scared because wolves have become less and less afraid , when we thought that killing them and scaring them off would eventually make them stay away for good when it acctually gave them more reason to attack us. If you think about it, it really did because we already pushed them to their limits by constantly taking there territory , without thinking about where they would go, killing their prey, without using most of it just taking the skins, and killing them almost to extinction.So i think that they are really just letting that anger out by not being scared by getting closer and closer to humans.We may be scared because our guns and weapons don't scare them anymore and if they aren't scared of that then we have nothing they would be scared about, our plan to drive them away has backfired
-Fierceclaw

Zemie · Post by **Zemie** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:40 pm

Fierceclaw wrote: by constantly taking there territory , without thinking about where they would go, killing their prey, without using most of it just taking the skins, and killing them almost to extinction.

Hunters do actually use most of what they catch, I think it's a law not to waste most of it. Most not useful things like skin or bones are usually sold to taxidermists. I don't think at any point wolves were 'almost extinct' as you put it, and we didn't just take territory from wolves, what about all the other animals?
And I doubt anyone is that scared of wolves that they go out an kill them for no reason. Most people who really like wolves tend to exaggerate how misunderstood and disliked they are.

Croix · Post by **Croix** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 2:39 pm

Fierceclaw wrote:...So i think that they are really just letting that anger out by not being scared by getting closer and closer to humans.

Wolves have no grudge whatsoever against humans, they are moving closer to us, not because they want to scare us, but because some wolves are seeing humans constantly and they learn that:

1) We wont hurt them
2) They are just as curious as us as we are of them
3) Some people feed them, so people = food

Most wolves are still very cautious of people and wont even get within a mile radius of us, if they know we are there.

oxoDestinyoxo · Post by **oxoDestinyoxo** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:56 pm

Zemie wrote: Hunters do actually use most of what they catch, I think it's a law not to waste most of it. Most not useful things like skin or bones are usually sold to taxidermists. I don't think at any point wolves were 'almost extinct' as you put it, and we didn't just take territory from wolves, what about all the other animals?
And I doubt anyone is that scared of wolves that they go out an kill them for no reason. Most people who really like wolves tend to exaggerate how misunderstood and disliked they are.

Wolves were totally wiped out in the west at one point in time, and considered endangered in the United States. I don't think there's a law that says you have to use most of an animal you kill.

I agree that some tend to exaggerate how much wolves are hated. Wolves are a pest to game hunters, and just like rats, of course their hated some, just not that much. Wolves are a very scary creature, knowing it can kill you, but your right, everyone has a reason to kill any animal, wolves are no exception.

Fierceclaw · Post by **Fierceclaw** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:18 pm

Well yes i guess i am exaggerating a bit , and yes they were almost killed to extinction.I also feel the same way about other animals , not just the wolves , in some ways yes i did exaggerate but in some other ways i didn't.For instance bears are another problem same as cougers or mountain lions and you just don't see people going out and killing them so freely. You don't see people killing other animals that kill livestock, and did you know one of the very first laws of Jamestown was to kill all wolves. People went to extrodinary lengths to kill wolves like...dousing them in gasoline and setting them on fire,putting poison in carccasses,put up traps [ when the wolf was cought some would club them to death,and by putting nails in carcasses [ when eaten they would tear up the wolfves' stomach]. Did you know that the domestic dog has killed more men women and children in just one year, then all the wolves have in the entire history of the United States. And we cherish the dog even though they are in fact the descendents of wolves, how messed up is that. Wolves are just seriously misunderstood creatures that never had a chance of earning a good reputation among humans, in the modern century that is. In old times the start of rome happened only because the first people were, Remus and Remulus,suckled by a she-wolf , Lupa goddess of all wolves, and they would've died if not for her.So if we killed went over to rome back then and killed a wolf we probrably would've been executed on the spot. My point is that people i think learned a lot from the animals and we repay them by killing them so freely without even a thought at what we are doing, and yes it isn't just wolves there are plenty of animals that we kill for nothing but their fur or there head so we can make them a rug or put there heads up on a wall. Some people even do it just for the fun of it and so the can "show off how mibghty they are" when the acctually seem a little dumb to me because oh yeah that was oh so very hard and the odds were really against you ,killing an animal that probrably didn't even know you were there with a weapon that can shoot from like 30feet away and go straight through a like block of wood no problem.It just makes me mad that they think they are so high and mighty killing an unarmed animal with a like .44 magnuim or a shotgun it is just wrong to me.

-Fierceclaw

Croix · Post by **Croix** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:03 am

Fierceclaw wrote:Well yes i guess i am exaggerating a bit , and yes they were almost killed to extinction.I also feel the same way about other animals , not just the wolves , in some ways yes i did exaggerate but in some other ways i didn't.For instance bears are another problem same as cougers or mountain lions and you just don't see people going out and killing them so freely. You don't see people killing other animals that kill livestock, and did you know one of the very first laws of Jamestown was to kill all wolves. People went to extrodinary lengths to kill wolves like...dousing them in gasoline and setting them on fire,putting poison in carccasses,put up traps [ when the wolf was cought some would club them to death,and by putting nails in carcasses [ when eaten they would tear up the wolfves' stomach]. Did you know that the domestic dog has killed more men women and children in just one year, then all the wolves have in the entire history of the United States. And we cherish the dog even though they are in fact the descendents of wolves, how messed up is that. Wolves are just seriously misunderstood creatures that never had a chance of earning a good reputation among humans, in the modern century that is. In old times the start of rome happened only because the first people were, Remus and Remulus,slurp by a she-wolf , Lupa ecosystem of all wolves, and they would've died if not for her.So if we killed went over to rome back then and killed a wolf we probrably would've been executed on the spot. My point is that people i think learned a lot from the animals and we repay them by killing them so freely without even a thought at what we are doing, and yes it isn't just wolves there are plenty of animals that we kill for nothing but their fur or there head so we can make them a rug or put there heads up on a wall. Some people even do it just for the fun of it and so the can "show off how mibghty they are" when the acctually seem a little wonderful to me because oh yeah that was oh so very hard and the odds were really against you ,killing an animal that probrably didn't even know you were there with a weapon that can shoot from like 30feet away and go straight through a like block of wood no problem.It just makes me mad that they think they are so high and mighty killing an unarmed animal with a like .44 magnuim or a shotgun it is just wrong to me.

-Fierceclaw

Humans do not hunt wolves freely, but yes people do kill bears and cougars and many other animals as well, and I've heard of plenty of people hunting down bears and cougars because they've killed their livestock. And if there is an open season on an animal there are strict regulations that if someone didn't listen to they would go to jail. Mostly, people usually hunt certain animals, like deer, because of over-population, they are thriving besides humans. So please, don't act as if wolves are the only ones being hunted down.
And it isn't "messed up" that we cherish humans best friend, most of those cases involve either:

Rabid animals
Fighting dogs
Animals protecting their home
Dogs who weren't trained properly
Provoked dogs

I know that one of my dogs can be very dangerous if he feels threatened, I've seen it first-hand when a stranger was trying to cut through our yard in the middle of the night. There is always a reason behind any animal attack.
Also, Remus and Romulus were not nursed by a wolf, that is a complete legend, there is no reason that a wolf would ever take in two human infants and treat them as her own.

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