Wolf

A wolf strays near Elmoss in the spring of 1153.

The wolf is a large species of predatory mammal which occasionally strays past the Scent Border and into the Mouse Territories.

Appearance and characteristics

Bigger than the coyote and the fox, the wolf is specialised for cooperative game hunting. Packs of wolves, ranging between three to seven members, are able to bring down large prey animals such as moose and deer. The wolf is active year-round, but because a pack requires so much food to sustain itself it rarely remains in one place for too long.

The wolf usually leaves mice alone as there are bigger, richer meals to hunt outside the Territories. Inevitably, though, a local wolf pack will fall onto hard times and suffer from a lean year. At this point, the wolf turns to nearly anything that moves to sustain itself.

Notable wolves

• According to Bastian's Tale of the Wild Wolf, during his childhood he crossed the Scent Border to explore the open country. A lone wolf attached Bastian and killed his companions — a beetle, grasshopper and moth. Apparently, the wolf would have killed Bastian also if not for the apparition of the spectral Ragnier the Hunter, who slayed the beast.

Gallery

A young Bastian angers a lone wolf beyond the Scent Border by peppering its nose with thorn arrows.

A wolf and her cubs stay near Elmoss during the spring of 1153.

A pack of wolves watch as Midnight is banished beyond the Scent Border at the end of the fall of 1152.