Wolf Land - a history of wolves in Ireland
Wolves from Oppian of Apamea Cynegetica, 10th Century. Wolves in Ireland were once an integral part of the Irish countryside and culture, but are now extinct. The last wild wolf in Ireland is said to have been killed in 1786 , three hundred years after they were believed to have been wiped out in England and a century after their disappearance in Scotland. The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is a canine of the order Carnivora, an apex predator largely feeding on ungulates. The earliest radiocarbon date for Irish wolf remains come from excavated cave sites in Castlepook Cave, north of Doneraile, County Cork, and dates back to 34,000 BC. Wolf bones discovered in a number of other cave sites, particularly in the counties of Cork, Waterford and Clare indicate the presence of wolves throughout the Midlandian ice age which probably reached its peak between 20,000 BC and 18,000 BC. By about 14,000 BC Ireland became separated from Great Britain, which, itself, stil