Tierisch Wild - Urlaub am Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald

The Wolf: FASCINATION AND FEAR

Fascination and admiration but also mistrust and fear – the escape of wolves from the Bavarian Forest National Park enclosures in 1976 and 2002 gave rise to varied human reactions. Since the last wolf living in the wild here was shot in 1846, men have forgotten to how to live with large predators. The myths and legends remain, often encouraging primal fears of the ‘big, bad wolf’.

The image of wolves living and hunting in packs is very real. Contrary to popular preconceptions, it is not humans but birds, rodents and larger mammals such as deer which a wolf seeks as food.

These animals, which are actually very shy of humans, are now searching again in the Bavarian Forest for new places to live. In the end, it is a question of tolerance – will we allow the wolf to return to his old homeland, the Bavarian Forest!