The Promise and Peril of Rewilding in Once There Were Wolves

Charlotte McConaghy's Once There Were Wolves interrogates rewilding as both a scientific necessity and a deeply human struggle. The novel's central claim is that ecological restoration is never a neutral act: it forces communities to confront their own fears, violence, and assumptions about nature. Through the reintroduction of wolves to the Scottish Highlands, McConaghy shows that rewilding promises healing for degraded ecosystems but also exposes the peril of human interference—both the danger of imposing change on resistant communities and the risk of losing the wildness that makes restoration meaningful. The novel ultimately suggests that true rewilding requires not just the return of apex predators, but a fundamental shift in how humans see themselves in relation to the natural world.

The Promise: Wolves as Keystone and Catalyst

The novel grounds its ecological argument in the science of trophic cascades. In a public meeting, biologist Evan Long explains that wolves are a keystone predator whose return will trigger a chain of recovery: fewer deer, more tree growth, richer habitats, and even carbon capture. He describes Scotland as “an ecosystem in crisis” and argues that reintroducing wolves is “the simplest, most effective way” to restore balance. This promise is not abstract—the novel shows it in action. The epilogue reveals that years after the release, “the hills have changed color,” deer are migrating, and new willow and alder shoots appear on the survey grounds that Inti first inspected. The wolves have not only survived but thrived, with Ash (Number Six) establishing the Abernethy Pack and raising a litter. The promise of rewilding is thus realized: the land regenerates, and locals eventually watch for wolves with binoculars rather than rifles.

Yet the novel complicates this success by showing that the promise is contingent on human patience and sacrifice. The project begins illegally, with Inti and her team transporting wolves without permission to avoid bureaucratic delays. This act of defiance sets the tone: rewilding is not a clean, orderly process but a messy, urgent intervention. The wolves themselves are not passive tools; they have agency, as seen when Number Nine and Six form a bond, or when Number Ten returns to protect her pack. The promise of rewilding, then, is not just about ecological metrics but about allowing wildness to unfold on its own terms.

The Peril: Human Fear and Violence

The peril of rewilding is most vividly expressed through the human opposition. The meeting in Chapter 3 is a microcosm of the conflict: farmers, gamekeepers, and landowners voice fears about livestock losses, the erosion of the “Highlander way of life,” and the safety of children. One farmer warns, “If one of those wolves takes a bite out of a single one of my sheep, I will take myself and my people into that forest and I won’t stop until I have hunted down every last one of them.” This threat is not idle—Red McRae becomes a central antagonist, and his hostility fuels the novel’s violence.

The peril extends beyond rhetoric. When Stuart Burns, a local man, is killed, the blame is placed on a wolf, even though the truth is that Aggie stabbed him in self-defense. The wolf becomes a scapegoat for human violence, and the community’s fear is redirected onto the animals. This is the novel’s sharpest critique: rewilding projects can become lightning rods for pre-existing social tensions, and the wolves bear the cost of human cruelty. The death of Number Ten, a wolf killed in the aftermath, underscores this tragedy. The peril is not just economic or physical—it is moral. The project forces characters to choose between protecting the wolves and protecting themselves, and the choices are rarely clean.

Complexity and Contradiction: The Limits of Control

The novel refuses to offer a simple endorsement of rewilding. Inti’s mirror-touch synesthesia—her ability to physically feel what others feel—blurs the boundary between herself and the wolves. When she watches Number Nine dominate Six, she feels his muzzle on her neck, his teeth in her ear. This empathy is both a gift and a curse: it allows her to understand the wolves deeply, but it also threatens to overwhelm her. Her condition symbolizes the fundamental entanglement of humans and nature, but it also highlights the danger of losing oneself in the other. Inti’s struggle to maintain distance—“I can’t get lost in them, or I won’t survive”—reflects the larger tension of rewilding: we must intervene, but we must also let go.

The novel’s ending deepens this contradiction. In the epilogue, Inti removes every radio collar from the wolves, allowing them to live “truly free.” This act is a rejection of the surveillance and control that defined the project. The collars, which once tracked the wolves’ every move, are symbols of human dominance. By removing them, Inti acknowledges that rewilding cannot be managed indefinitely; it must eventually become wild. Yet the novel also shows that this freedom is only possible because the human community has learned to coexist. The quiet that falls over the Highlands is not the absence of conflict but the acceptance of a new relationship.

The contradiction is also evident in the cover-up of Stuart’s death. Duncan, who deduces the truth, chooses to protect Aggie and Inti by letting the wolf take the blame. This act of mercy is also an act of violence against the truth. The novel suggests that rewilding cannot be separated from human ethics; the wolves are innocent, but they are sacrificed to preserve a fragile peace. This is the peril of rewilding: it forces us to confront our own capacity for harm, even when we intend to heal.

Character and Symbol Connections

The theme is embodied in the characters. Inti, as the project leader, is the bridge between scientific ambition and emotional connection. Her synesthesia makes her uniquely attuned to the wolves, but it also isolates her from humans. Aggie, her twin, represents the wildness that cannot be tamed; her trauma and eventual disappearance into the forest mirror the wolves’ own journey. Duncan, the local policeman, becomes an unlikely ally, his understanding of the land and its people allowing him to see beyond fear. Stuart Burns, the antagonist, embodies the destructive potential of human fear, while Ash (Number Six) is the symbol of rewilding’s success—a wolf who builds a pack, raises pups, and dies peacefully, having transformed the landscape.

Symbols reinforce the theme. The radio collar, as noted, represents control and the tension between intervention and freedom. Sign language, which Inti offers to teach Duncan, represents communication beyond words—a way to connect without violence. The forest itself is a living entity, described as having been “waiting” for the wolves to “wake it from its long slumber.” The wolf howl, which the wolves do not emit when stressed, becomes a symbol of wildness and belonging; its absence signals distress, and its eventual return (implied in the epilogue) marks the restoration of the pack’s health.

Study Questions

How does the novel use the concept of trophic cascades to argue for rewilding, and what evidence does it provide that this promise is fulfilled?

Answer: Evan’s speech explains that wolves control deer populations, allowing vegetation to regenerate, which in turn supports other species and captures carbon. The epilogue shows the fulfillment: the hills change color, deer migrate, and new willow and alder shoots appear, indicating that the ecosystem is recovering.

What are the main sources of human opposition to the wolf reintroduction, and how does the novel portray the consequences of that opposition?

Answer: Opposition comes from farmers and landowners who fear livestock losses and the erosion of traditional livelihoods, as well as from those who see wolves as a threat to children. The novel shows this fear leading to threats, the killing of Number Ten, and the scapegoating of a wolf for Stuart Burns’s death, revealing how rewilding can become a flashpoint for human violence.

How does Inti’s mirror-touch synesthesia complicate her role as a rewilding scientist?

Answer: Her synesthesia makes her feel the wolves’ sensations, creating deep empathy but also overwhelming her. It blurs the boundary between human and animal, forcing her to question whether she can maintain the distance needed to manage the project. This reflects the larger tension between intervention and letting go.

What does the removal of the radio collars in the epilogue signify about the novel’s view of rewilding?

Answer: The collars symbolize human control and surveillance. Removing them signifies that true rewilding requires relinquishing control and allowing the wolves to live freely. It suggests that restoration is ultimately about creating conditions for wildness, not managing it indefinitely.

How does the novel address the ethical dilemma of using wolves as scapegoats for human violence?

Answer: When Aggie kills Stuart, the truth is hidden and a wolf is blamed. Duncan chooses to protect the sisters, but this means an innocent animal is condemned. The novel critiques this by showing the wolf’s death as a tragedy, and by having Inti later remove the collars as an act of atonement. It suggests that rewilding cannot succeed if it is built on lies and sacrifice.