| WOLF Canis lupus | |
| STATUS: Extinct | |
 Mick Hoult |
Common in the early medieval period, especially in the Royal Forest of the Peak. In 1586 William Camden said “There is no danger of wolves now in these places, though infested by them heretofore.” The Victoria County History provides a few interesting details: a colt and 2 sheep were killed in Edale by wolves in 1255-56 and there are references to wolf trapping in 1286. Peak wolf trappers were apparently so skilled that Henry II sent two of them to trap wolves on his estates in Normandy in 1167-68. Commemorated in a few place names e.g. Wolfscote Dale, Wolf Edge in the Staffordshire Moors and Wolfpits on Abney Moor. Wolf pits were also known at Bakewell and Priestcliffe. |