In addition to the more rational reasons for the persecution of wolves there was also widespread superstition, particularly in Medieval times, that the wolf represented the darker side of human nature. Even the devil himself was sometimes shown in the shape of a wolf, and stories of werewolves are told to this day. No means of persecution was considered too cruel. They were hung up alive on hooks, hunted with poison, guns and traps, and this relentless pursuit led to more and more areas being devoid of wolves. In the Bavarian Forest the last wolf was hunted down in 1847, and shortly afterwards the species also disappeared from the Brandenburg Forest. The war against the big bad wolf then moved eastwards.

Up until the 1970s the distribution of wolves had become so scanty as to cover only a few areas which were mostly isolated from each other. Only the inaccessible mountains and ravines of the Abruzzese, the Carpathians, and the Spanish Cordillera offered protection from human persecution. At that time there were the first signs of resistance against the wolf being driven to extinction. In Portugal, Croatia, Poland, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden and Norway the wolves were given year-round protection. In Slovakia and Romania the wolf is at least protected from hunters during the time of raising the pups. There are still incidences of wolves being shot where they turn up, often even in areas where they are protected by law. Nevertheless, the outlook for the survival of the species is better than it was only a few decades ago.