I have been studying wolves for 40 years. They are a part of my life. I always feel incredibly fortunate to encounter them in nature, as I did in the… - Luigi Boitani

The wolf was never eradicated in the Apennines in central Italy, where it has always been part of nature. The people there don't have a problem with wolves. But when they return to regions where they haven't existed for more than a century, as is the case in Germany today, people still have all these ancient stories in their heads. Of course, wolves killed people in the past. But that was before we had firearms. Wolves have learned that people can also be dangerous when they're far away, which is why they normally make a wide berth around us.

Wolves are curious, and it's quite possible that a wolf will occasionally approach a human settlement. It doesn't happen often, but it isn't unnatural behavior, either. A situation like that can certainly become critical, and it's perfectly justifiable to intervene and show the animal that people can be dangerous. Perhaps one reason the wolf is so fearless is that human beings have taught it to acquire such behavior.

Wolves are very clever animals. The young learn from the older ones. You have to consider that we bred the domestic dog from the wolf. And dogs can learn anything! We don't have to shoot a few animals in every generation to preserve the natural fear of people. But you do have to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. I have no objection to shooting a wolf that's causing a lot of trouble. I'm a conservationist, but I'm not one of those wolf lovers who believe that every animal is sacred and has to be protected under all circumstances. We aren't doing wolves any favors with that attitude.