Fear of the fabled 'big bad wolf' has dominated the public perception of wolves for millennia and strongly influences current debates concerning human-wildlife conflict. Humans both fear wolves and, perhaps more importantly, are concerned about wolves losing their fear of humans - because if they fear us, they avoid us and that offers protection.
A new Western University study shows that even where laws are in place to protect them, wolves fully fear the human super predator.'
These findings by Western biology professor Liana Zanette - in collaboration with one of Europe's leading wolf experts, Dries Kuijper from the Polish Academy of Sciences, and others - were published Oct. 2 in Current Biology.
