The wolf gets a bad rap in fairy tales, like “Little Red Riding Hood,” where poor Grandma is swallowed up whole. But is the “big bad wolf” actually scared of us?
Thanks to conservation efforts, wolves are returning to parts of their historical ranges in Europe and North America. With their return, there is growing concern that these predators are becoming less fearful of people.
Scientists tested this idea in a forest in Poland and showed that wolves there actually still have a healthy fear of humans. The wolves in the study ran away at the sound of human voices. The scientists also found that both wolves and their prey were more active at night, probably to avoid humans, who use the forest during the day.
Watch the video to learn more:
Learn more
To learn more about the scientists’ research, read this article by Shreya Dasgupta on Mongabay News.
Citation
Kasper, K., Say-Sallaz, E., Clinchy, M., Pallari, N., Szewczyk, M., Churski, M., … Kuijper, D. P. (2025). Wolves and their prey all fear the human “super predator”. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2025.09.018
