Despite many claims online, there is no evidence that wolves survived in Scotland so late as 1743. Nor is there any 'record' of Sir Ewan Cameron (or anyone else) killing the last wolf about 1680. These claims are myths. There are regular records of wolf hunting till about 1630. But, thereafter, there are no records and they must certainly have been extinct by 1650.
The stories are amongst the many myths about Scots history. These are not without their own interest but they are very different from evidence-based history. They are also persistent - often because they are 'good stories' - the sort of thing people like to believe.
I thought I had provided enough evidence, several years ago, to destroy the 1743 myth. But it survives in full vigour - indeed, the web has ensured that it has bred and multiplied and produced infants of its own. It is not only the date of extermination which is open to question. Many trenchant claims are made that the cause was hunting or forest clearance; in reality, whilst either might be significant and both were certainly happening, there is no evidence for their relative or absolute significance for extermination in Scotland.
Nothing daunted, I have now posted yet more (and more conclusive) evidence that the last wolves in Scotland vanished some time after 1630, surely by 1650. You can read it here or on the Research and Reports page of this website. It is free. But I do ask, if you find new evidence, of real wolves or wolf hunting, do please let me know.
The stories are amongst the many myths about Scots history. These are not without their own interest but they are very different from evidence-based history. They are also persistent - often because they are 'good stories' - the sort of thing people like to believe.
I thought I had provided enough evidence, several years ago, to destroy the 1743 myth. But it survives in full vigour - indeed, the web has ensured that it has bred and multiplied and produced infants of its own. It is not only the date of extermination which is open to question. Many trenchant claims are made that the cause was hunting or forest clearance; in reality, whilst either might be significant and both were certainly happening, there is no evidence for their relative or absolute significance for extermination in Scotland.
Nothing daunted, I have now posted yet more (and more conclusive) evidence that the last wolves in Scotland vanished some time after 1630, surely by 1650. You can read it here or on the Research and Reports page of this website. It is free. But I do ask, if you find new evidence, of real wolves or wolf hunting, do please let me know.
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