The Avesta says Ahriman, the evil spirit, created the wolf from the darkness. The ancient Zoroastrians thought wolves, cats and lions were in the same family. Today we know that wolves are actually in the same family as dogs not cats.

There are two kinds of wolves today. The red wolf (on the right) lives in some parts of the United States, and it’s almost extinct.

The gray wolf lives in North America, Europe and Asia including Iran.

People have been killing wolves for centuries because of fear, or because their fur is valuable. So their number is decreasing everywhere. Despite many myths and stories, wolves hardly attack people. There have been only 3 reports of wolves attacking people in the United States.

Wolves have great endurance. Did you know that a wolf pack (family group) can travel more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) in one day?