The myth of the man-eating wolf is back… Since Sunday and the attack on a jogger by three canines at the Thoiry zoo (Yvelines), the question of the dangerousness of the famous animal has arisen again. Like in the tales, where the “big bad wolf” is never satisfied with fresh flesh. But is it justified?
“Animals that live in captivity have nothing to do with those born in natural areas,” says Jean-David Abel, head of the biodiversity network of the France Nature Environnement association. The one who has been a member of the national “wolf” group for more than twenty years assures us: “Wolves flee from humans or always maintain a flight distance where they feel safe. It’s very rare that they stay nearby.”
The figures confirm it: there has been no proven attack on humans for around thirty years. “I live at the foot of the Vercors where there are several packs but never an attack,” says the specialist, who therefore emphasizes the difference in behavior between animals depending on their living conditions. In captivity as at the Thoiry zoo this weekend, it differs.
“The reflex to attack her, not to kill her”
“There the wolves saw something moving and went to bite it. It could have been a deer, they didn’t know. They had the reflex to attack her, not to kill her. They were not hungry because they are fed regularly,” says Jean-David Abel, still speaking of a “predation reflex.” “The fact that the jogger was moving stimulated their running and biting reflex, as in many predators. They want to stop him. This is why we sometimes see dogs chasing tires. »
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An investigation was opened into unintentional injuries and was entrusted to the Mantes-la-Jolie Research Brigade. The victim, a 37-year-old woman, was hit in the neck, calf and back and transported to hospital in absolute emergency.
