Wolves elicit strong emotions in humans: some people view them with awe and reverence, others brand them thieves and murderers, the criminals of the animal world. Such extreme responses are nothing new, and wolves have found themselves in complicated—sometimes deadly—relationships with humans for millennia. They have been reviled and worshiped, regarded as sacred symbols or abhorrent monsters, called warriors or cowards, seen as representatives of a bestial threat or as the epitome of nurturing care. The reputation, and ultimately the fate, of this species are the result of long-entrenched cultural perceptions surrounding them.
