Colourful Creatures
The Wolf

The largest member of the dog family, the wolf is also the only species of Canis to have a range encompassing both the Old and New Worlds. This and the wolf’s long association with humans may explain its unique place in folklore and mythology. Admired and feared in equal measure, Canis Lupus is brought magnificently to life on the fifth coin in our glow-in-the-dark Colourful Creatures series.

Wolf, dog and man

Over the centuries, the wolf’s predatory nature made it a symbol of the warrior on the one hand and of the devil on the other. From Little Red Riding Hood to Peter and the Wolf, fables and stories exaggerated and encouraged the concept of the “Big bad wolf”. Yet recorded attacks by wolves on humans are relatively few and far between, while humans have extirpated wolves from vast tracks of their natural habit. According to Dr Kurt Kotrschal, co-founder of the Wolf Science Center, near Vienna, which conducts on the common characteristics shared by wolf, dog and man, there are, however, significant similarities between wolves and humans. These include our group structure, our patterns of cooperation, how we raise our young and how we wage war on our neighbours.