The Wolves of Périgord

The Wolves of Périgord were a pack of man-eating wolves that dominated the northwestern regions of Périgord, France, in February of 1766. According to official records, the wolves killed eighteen people and wounded many others before they were eliminated.

Louis XV 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, a sexagenarian with a billhook, had rescued an armed marksman and his companions from marauding wolves after their gunpowder 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.