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Do werewolves actually hunt people and kill them commonly or is it just when they feel threatened in their territory?
Cole T., Wapakoneta, Ohio

Remains of werewolf killed in a mudslide in southern California, 1986

A: Werewolf attacks on humans are extremely rare, and evidence suggests that they are a matter of territory rather than hunger.

Werewolves are omnivores that will consume everything from berries to large ungulates such as elk and moose. Like other large predators, they don't appear to have a taste for humans.

That is not to say that werewolves never hunt humans. The Beast of Gevaudan killed more than 80 people in 1760s France, and a series of werewolf attacks on fishing camps and small towns in Wisconsin during the 1920s resulted in 23 deaths. That wolf was killed by a team of FVZA agents, and the subsequent autopsy revealed a viral infection in the wolf's brain, suggesting that it may have been suffering from derangement. Werewolf attacks on humans also are associated with droughts and other situations that might put the beasts under stress. But this is not a common phenomenon, as werewolves are much more adaptive than common animals.

Werewolves are highly territorial and easily threatened. A hiker blundering into their range might be shadowed for awhile and then left alone. A hunter or hunting party is far more likely to incite their wrath. If you wish to avoid becoming werewolf prey, do not travel in deep woods during the sunrise and sunset hours. Firearms likely will agitate the wolf and are not going to be much help if it attacks. But I can't emphasize this enough: Werewolf attacks are extrememly rare and should not dissuade anyone from enjoying recreational activities like camping and hunting.