Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology

The wolf is a common motif in the foundational mythologies and cosmologies of peoples throughout Eurasia and North America (corresponding to the historical extent of the habitat of the gray wolf), and also plays a role in ancient European cultures. The modern trope of the Big Bad Wolf arises from European folklore. The wolf holds great importance in the cultures and religions of many nomadic peoples, such as those of the Eurasian steppe and North American Plains.

Wolves have sometimes been associated with witchcraft in both northern European and some Native American cultures: in Norse folklore, the völva Hyndla and the gýgr Hyrrokin are both portrayed as using wolves as mounts, while in Navajo culture, wolves have sometimes been interpreted as witches in wolf's clothing.^[1] Traditional Tsilhqot'in beliefs have warned that contact with wolves could in some cases possibly cause mental illness and death.^[2]