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Only 2 People Killed by Wolves in 200 Years? Nat Geo Special

Only 2 People Killed by Wolves in 200 Years? Nat Geo Special

Last updated on: November 6, 2026 at 12:35 am by DeWayne Hamby

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Only 2 People Killed by Wolves in 200 Years? Nat Geo Special 2026-11-06T00:35:38-04:00 DeWayne Hamby

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In the last 200 years, how many people have been killed by wolves? Wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory had the answer ready when he sat down with Matt Noel. “Two people,” he said. “How many people have been killed by domestic dogs, or by toilet seats? And we don’t have this crazy witch hunt for toilet seats, right? Let’s just put things into perspective.”

WOLVES UP CLOSE WITH BERTIE GREGORY – Key Art. (Disney)

That perspective is at the heart of “Wolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory,” National Geographic’s new special. Gregory returns to Hudson Bay in Arctic Canada to check in on a wolf pack he has followed for about seven years, during the hardest season of their year. Gregory says the bigger goal was to change how audiences think about them. “We grow up with the stories of the big bad wolf,” he said. “It’s really easy to kill and persecute something that everyone hates. Maintain that hatred, that means that no one’s ever gonna stop you killing them.”

What he wanted to show instead is what he has seen in the wild. “These wolves are in their wild, natural state, in the middle of nowhere, they’re bold and curious, they are just so unaggressive towards us,” he said. “We are just not on the menu, even remotely. They have these amazing lives, and the way that they interact and care for each other is so compassionate, it’s so beautiful. And I hope that this will make people maybe rethink our relationship with wolves.”

The pack is led by a white wolf named Kona, a name from the Cree language of the First Nations people of the Hudson Bay region that means snowflake. It is also an unusual pack: according to the special’s local experts, it is one of the only packs known to take on polar bears. Every wolf he follows today is different from the ones he met at the start, since wolves in the wild rarely live past five or six, but the current pack descends from the original members. “It’s like you go see the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren of people you used to know,” he said.

Gregory describes Kona as a leader who knows when to step up. “Whenever the situation was kind of benign, he’d lead from the back. He’d let the young bucks think that they were in charge. But whenever push came to shove, and there was a dangerous situation, whether that be jumping on the moose or driving off a rival wolf, immediately Kona would be like, this is my time. I’m gonna show you how daddy does it.” It’s one example of the individuality Gregory sees in every wolf he films. “They have personalities just like we do,” he said. “Some of them are shy, some of them are bold, some of them are born leaders.”

Nothing about the hunt is easy for any of them. In the Arctic winter food is scarce, and the biggest prize is a moose, an animal that can weigh over 1,000 pounds and kick hard enough to seriously injure or kill a wolf. Gregory said the film is honest about the odds. “We felt it was important to show that they fail most of the time. Imagine having to jump on a moose once a week for your entire life.”

Keeping up with the pack was its own challenge. Gregory and his crew spent eight weeks outside, all day, every day, on snowmobiles in temperatures that local guide Mike Reimer, founder of Churchill Wild, confirms can fall to negative 40 Fahrenheit. Gregory wouldn’t trade it. “What a privilege to be out, hundreds of miles from the nearest town, just bombing around on snowmobiles. I feel very fortunate to have the job that I have.”

He doesn’t credit luck alone for the footage he comes home with, and he doesn’t blame it either. “If you just spend a ridiculous amount of time outside, eventually you’re gonna see something cool,” he said. His job when it happens is simple. “I will keep the animal in the frame no matter what it does.”

The special builds toward one of those moments, and without giving anything away, not everything goes the way the crew hoped. Gregory is at peace with that. “It’s not heartbreaking. I kind of liked it,” he said. “There’s sort of this amazing aura around these wolves, this sort of mystery and magic. It wasn’t like we didn’t get an amazing show.” In the field, he said, you can get frustrated, “but also accept that the pages that nature writes are going to be way better than anything you came up with.”

Asked what viewers can do for wildlife, Gregory started with wolves. With talk in the U.S. of taking them off the endangered species list, he said, this is an important time to use your voice, to speak up before it happens or “make a lot of noise about how you’re unhappy about it” if it does. Then he got closer to home. “If you have a garden, or even just a windowsill of your apartment, plant that with wildflowers. Help local pollinators. Just make your area, your life wilder, go connect with the outdoors, and that’s not just a good thing for the natural world, it’s a good thing for you as well.”

“Wolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory” premieres Friday, Nov. 6 at 9/8c on National Geographic and streams the same day on Disney+ and Hulu.

Nate Powers is a filmmaker and founder of Contrast Collective, recognized with multiple awards for accomplishments in directing, editing, character design, and social impact. He conducts entertainment interviews with actors, directors, and creators as a personal passion alongside his filmmaking career. Connect with him on social media @NatePowers.TV

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