36 



CHAPTEE Y. 



The Wolf in Norway. When First Seen in this Country. The Cubs. 

 Its Food. Strange Food. A Sick Wolf. The Wolves on the 

 I ce , A Catastrophe. Partiality of the Wolf for Pork. An Adven- 

 ture with Wolves. The Bishop and the Wolves. Medicinal Virtues 

 of the Wolf. Its Skin. Modes of Capturing Wolves in Norway. 

 Boldness of the Wolf in Winter. 



THE wolf (Canis lupus) is common in all the moun- 

 tainous districts of Norway, especially in the central 

 parts. Nilsson was for a long time of opinion that the 

 black wolf (Canis lycaon) was also found in Sweden 

 and Norway ; but this appears to have been a mistake, 

 as it has been ascertained that only the common species 

 frequents the Scandinavian peninsula. It would appear 

 that, in former times, the ravages of this animal were 

 confined to the eastern and north-eastern parts of the 

 country. The unwelcome brute no doubt found its 

 way into Sweden from Russia, where it remained for a 

 long time on the frontier of Norway. We find from 

 Pontoppidan that wolves were unknown in the Bergen 

 Stift until 1718. Before that year the ravages of these 

 hated and dreaded animals had not extended beyond 

 the Fille Fjeld, a range of mountains at a considerable 



