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As someone with young kids... I want to be a free-range parent to the extent possible, but I'm not going to let my kids wander around in the forest if there are

As someone with young kids... I want to be a free-range parent to the extent possible, but I'm not going to let my kids wander around in the forest if there are wolf packs loose in the area. This worked well in 1950s Britain because they had exterminated all large predators! Let's be real about that. For most of human history, nature was deadly.

world2vec 2y ago
To be honest, that area is very hilly and rough. Even without wolf packs loitering around I wouldn't recommend young kids wandering by themselves outside of the fenced areas.
tinyplanets 2y ago
There have been a small number of cases where wolves attack humans, but the majority of attacks that do occur generally prey on cattle or sheep. With fencing and guard dogs, an equilibrium can be reached. Maybe have you kids wander with a protective dog. I don't want to see us continually destroy and suppress biodiversity because it's inconvenient for us.
- bpodgursky 2y ago
  There have been a small number of cases where wolves attack humans because 1. Humans have spent centuries exterminating wolves anywhere humans regularly go. 2. Humans adapt their behavior to minimize the risk of attack by wild predators. This is like saying "relatively few people get mugged wandering around alone in the tenderloin at 3am". It's because everyone knows it's a terrible idea and avoids doing so. That doesn't make the area safe.
  - barbazoo 2y ago
    Let’s put it into perspective. How many people get attacked by dogs vs wolves?
    - themaninthedark 2y ago
      How many people are attacked by grizzly bears vs dogs?
willismichael 2y ago
When you say kids, do you mean young goats or young humans?
codingdave 2y ago
We have wolves and the occasional bear on our property. They cause problems with chickens and trash cans, not people. They don't want to mess with us any more than we want to be messed with, and they typically keep their distance to the point that we see their tracks, not them. I wouldn't tell a toddler to go play in the woods, you are correct about that, but the rest of us freely wander nature without fretting too much over it. I also just checked and there have been zero wolf attacks on humans in my state. Ever. We just aren't their preferred targets.
- southernplaces7 2y ago
  I agree that we shouldn't be worrying about reintroduced wolves causing much risk to humans, but historical perspective is a good idea: We shouldn't worry about them in the context of today, since wolves have learned to be very careful about bothering humans. In earlier history, it was a different story. From what i've read, lethal wolf attacks in premodern Europe, even up to the late 18th century, were extremely common and claimed hundreds of human lives per year. Predators are predators. They stop attacking easy prey only if they're forcefully habituated into not doing so, not because they've become more warm, fuzzy and calm.
sethammons 2y ago
I lived the first 40 years of my life in bear and mountain lion territory and spent lots of time out in the wild, especially as a kid (usually a group of three or four of us). This is the first time I've lived where there is no wild animals to worry about aside from one variety of snake. It was a very odd sensation to realize I didn't have to be vigilantly aware of my surroundings to prevent a wild animal encounter. People have lived with predators for all of our existence

world2vec 2y ago

To be honest, that area is very hilly and rough. Even without wolf packs loitering around I wouldn't recommend young kids wandering by themselves outside of the fenced areas.

tinyplanets 2y ago

There have been a small number of cases where wolves attack humans, but the majority of attacks that do occur generally prey on cattle or sheep. With fencing and guard dogs, an equilibrium can be reached. Maybe have you kids wander with a protective dog. I don't want to see us continually destroy and suppress biodiversity because it's inconvenient for us.

bpodgursky 2y ago
There have been a small number of cases where wolves attack humans because 1. Humans have spent centuries exterminating wolves anywhere humans regularly go. 2. Humans adapt their behavior to minimize the risk of attack by wild predators. This is like saying "relatively few people get mugged wandering around alone in the tenderloin at 3am". It's because everyone knows it's a terrible idea and avoids doing so. That doesn't make the area safe.
- barbazoo 2y ago
  Let’s put it into perspective. How many people get attacked by dogs vs wolves?
  - themaninthedark 2y ago
    How many people are attacked by grizzly bears vs dogs?

willismichael 2y ago

When you say kids, do you mean young goats or young humans?

codingdave 2y ago

We have wolves and the occasional bear on our property. They cause problems with chickens and trash cans, not people. They don't want to mess with us any more than we want to be messed with, and they typically keep their distance to the point that we see their tracks, not them. I wouldn't tell a toddler to go play in the woods, you are correct about that, but the rest of us freely wander nature without fretting too much over it. I also just checked and there have been zero wolf attacks on humans in my state. Ever. We just aren't their preferred targets.

southernplaces7 2y ago
I agree that we shouldn't be worrying about reintroduced wolves causing much risk to humans, but historical perspective is a good idea: We shouldn't worry about them in the context of today, since wolves have learned to be very careful about bothering humans. In earlier history, it was a different story. From what i've read, lethal wolf attacks in premodern Europe, even up to the late 18th century, were extremely common and claimed hundreds of human lives per year. Predators are predators. They stop attacking easy prey only if they're forcefully habituated into not doing so, not because they've become more warm, fuzzy and calm.

sethammons 2y ago

I lived the first 40 years of my life in bear and mountain lion territory and spent lots of time out in the wild, especially as a kid (usually a group of three or four of us). This is the first time I've lived where there is no wild animals to worry about aside from one variety of snake. It was a very odd sensation to realize I didn't have to be vigilantly aware of my surroundings to prevent a wild animal encounter. People have lived with predators for all of our existence