Wolf attacks are injuries to humans or their property by gray wolves. Their frequency varies with geographical location and historical period, but overall wolf attacks are rare. Wolves today tend to live mostly far from people or have developed the tendency and ability to avoid them.

Researchers unearthed 489 victims of wolf attacks across the world from 2002 until 2020. Of those, 380 (78%) were rabid attacks, 67 were considered predatory attacks and 42 were provoked/defensive attacks. In Turkey, where there were 12 fatal attacks, 75 percent were caused by rabid wolves.

There have been few documented and undocumented wolf attacks on humans in North America in comparison to wolf attacks in Eurasia, and few relative to attacks by other larger carnivores. Below is an amalgamated list of verified, questionable and unverified attacks.

This is a list of some significant wolf attacks on humans worldwide, by decade and century, in reverse chronological order. The symbol † in the column "Type of attack" indicates a fatal attack.

We identified relatively reliable cases involving 489 human victims. Of these 67 were vic-tims of predatory attacks (9 fatal), 380 were victims of rabid attacks (14 fatal), and 42 were victims of provoked / defensive attacks (3 fatal).

2024年12月18日 · In 2021, experts in Norway examined wolf attacks on humans globally between 2002 and 2020 and reported that the risks associated with such attacks “are above zero, but far too low to calculate.” They found 26 credible reports of wolf-caused human fatalities over those 18 years, 12 of them in Turkey.

2024年1月12日 · Federal officials are investigating the killing of a gray wolf in northern Wisconsin on Christmas day. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed law enforcement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the Dec. 25 incident.

2023年4月13日 · Captive wolves are more likely to attack humans than wild ones. Rabid wolves are more likely to attack a human than a healthy wolf, but rabies outbreaks are almost unheard of in North American populations.

If the wolf does not retreat and is acting aggressive by holding its tail high, raising its hackles, barking or howling, you should yell and throw things at it while continuing to back away. If it attacks, fight back aggressively to show you are too dangerous to attack.

2024年2月7日 · While the fear of wolf attacks on humans has been ingrained in folklore and mythology for centuries, the reality is that such attacks are extremely rare. Wolves are naturally wary of humans and typically avoid direct contact.