The Wolves of Périgord were a pack of man-eating

Man-eater

Man-eater is a colloquial term for an animal that preys upon humans. This does not include scavenging. Although human beings can be attacked by many kinds of animals, man-eaters are those that have incorporated human flesh into their usual diet...

 wolves that plagued the northwestern regions of Périgord

Périgord

The Périgord is a former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne département, now forming the northern part of the Aquitaine région. It is divided into four regions, the Périgord Noir , the Périgord Blanc , the Périgord Vert and the Périgord Pourpre...

, France, in February 1766. According to official records, the wolves killed eighteen people and wounded many others before they were eliminated.

History

Louis XV

Louis XV of France

Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...

 took personal interest in the case, rewarding a man for his courage in saving a victim of the wolves with the promise of a cash reward and an exemption of militia service for his children. The man, who was in his sixties

Ageing

Ageing or aging is the accumulation of changes in a person over time. Ageing in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change. Some dimensions of ageing grow and expand over time, while others decline...

 and armed with a billhook

Billhook

The billhook is a traditional cutting tool known and used throughout the world, and very common in the wine-growing countries of Europe, used widely in agriculture and forestry The billhook (also bill hook – although this more usually refers to either a metal or plastic hook used to hold bills,...

, had rescued an armed marksman and his companions from marauding wolves after their gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

 had been depleted.

Records indicate that citizens of Périgord, known as Sieurs de Fayard, killed three wolves, and a professional hunter slew a fourth. A general hunt ended in the death of two wolves, male and female. The female was noted as having a double row of teeth in the jaw, suggesting the possibility of wolf-dog hybridization.

See also

• Beast of Gévaudan
  Beast of Gévaudan
  The Beast of Gévaudan is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan , in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767 over an area stretching . The beasts were consistently described by eyewitnesses as having...
  
  
• List of fatal wolf attacks
• List of wolves
• Wolf hunting
  Wolf hunting
  Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting grey wolves or other lupine animals. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock, and, in some rare cases, to protect humans. Wolves have been actively hunted since 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, when they first began to pose...
  
  
• Wolf of Ansbach
  Wolf of Ansbach
  The Wolf of Ansbach was a man-eating wolf that attacked and killed an unknown number of people in the Principality of Ansbach in 1685, then a part of the Holy Roman Empire.-History:...
  
  
• Wolf of Sarlat
  Wolf of Sarlat
  The Wolf of Sarlat attacked and wounded seventeen people in Sarlat, France, in June 1766. Unlike other wolves that had become man-eaters, it was notable in that it attacked only grown men, standing on its hind legs to get at the face and neck. A burgher of Saint-Julien, Monsieur Dubex de Descamps,...
  
  
• Wolf of Soissons
  Wolf of Soissons
  The Wolf of Soissons was a man-eating wolf which terrorized the commune of Soissons northeast of Paris over a period of two days in 1765, attacking eighteen people, four of whom died from their wounds....
  
  
• Wolves of Paris
  Wolves of Paris
  The Wolves of Paris were a man-eating wolf pack that entered Paris during the winter of 1450 through breaches in the city walls, killing forty people. A wolf named Courtaud, or "Bobtail", was the leader of the pack...