Iraq wolves are big, bad and unafraid

SAMAWAH, Iraq — The bloodthirsty enemy had gathered on the city's perimeter, but this time the locals were ready.

They had formed armed committees similar to forces of the so-called "Sons of Iraq" movement fighting off al-Qaida in Iraq militants in western Iraq. They were gearing for a fight.

Their foes had been attacking them with increasing abandon on the outskirts of this river city 170 miles south of Baghdad. They struck along the harsh desert plain leading to Saudi Arabia. They came day or night.

Among children, supernatural powers were attributed to these adversaries. They could withstand intense cold, according to legend, and their eyes changed from yellow to orange to green.

There would be no mercy for this enemy. And no negotiations.

The enemy, after all, were packs of hungry gray wolves who had overcome their fears of humans and begun feasting on livestock, right in front of local farmers.

"The locals formed armed groups, exchanging shifts throughout the day in order to protect people, cattle, sheep, and also children and women heading to schools, from those ferocious wolves," said Mohammed Abu-Reesha, a Samawah resident. "They have tremendous qualities. They appear during the day and don't fear bullets and challenge even men holding rifles."

The gray wolf, also called the Arabic wolf in Iraq, is among the most impressive predators in the Middle East. It grows up to 6 ½ feet long and stands as tall as 3 ½ feet, weighing up to 120 pounds, said veterinarian Fahad Abu Kaheela.

It has powerful jaws and can sprint at 40 miles per hour. The wolves hunt strategically, organizing themselves into packs and communicating messages via howls at different tones. They've been prowling Iraq's dusty wastelands for hundreds of years.

But something strange happened this year. Locals believe the wolves must have crossed some threshold of desperation or hunger, some tipping point that had prevented them from traipsing onto human turf. They overcame their fear of people and began entering towns and villages to feast on sheep and cattle.

Animal experts say predatory beasts such as wolves overcome their fear of humans when they're in proximity to them.

Some farmers speculated that the wolves had migrated from deserts to the villages because of three years of sparse rains and a lack of suitable prey. Others, including the local vet, said the incursions began after nomadic tribes began using high fences to protect their livestock, perhaps driving the wolves toward population centers.

"The wolves are fierce because of hunger and thirst that plagued them," said Abu Kaheela, the veterinarian. "That is why they began showing no fear."

"I have passed 60 years and I have never seen such wolves!" exclaimed Ugla Mohamed, a farmer wearing a belt fully loaded with ammunition and carrying a rifle in his hand. "They are vicious and stubborn grays."

Hussein Dakhel said a pack of a dozen wolves devoured five of his sheep while acting largely undisturbed by the sounds of his gunfire aimed into the air.

"We understood that wolves would run if they hear the sound of man or weapons," he said. "I don't know what kind of species this is."

To fight the wolves, residents set up positions just beyond their hamlets and armed themselves with AK-47s and pistols.

Fighters determined to keep the wolves away gathered at night, awaiting the wolf packs.

Mohammed Abu-Reesha, among the many locals belonging to the Abu-Reesha clan, and his neighbors confronted a pack of 10 wolves after the wolves attacked Adnan Ismael's home, killing eight of his goats and then trying to escape.

"We opened intense fire and killed two of them," Mohammed Abu-Reesha said.

In the village of Hamidiyah, wolves attacked farmer Mohammed Slaim's cows. He shot at one wolf from 100 yards away.

"I hit him but he started coming toward me, not caring about his injury," he said.

"I answered him, along with my uncle, with a barrage of bullets and he dropped dead two yards from us," he said.