The Wolves of Paris were a man-eating pack of around a dozen wolves that were responsible for several deaths in Paris in 1450. The animals first became active during the summer of 1447, attacking carriages and people taking their livestock to the Paris market. They were allegedly lead by a male wolf nicknamed "Courtaud" (Bobtail), in reference to its missing tail. In the winter of 1450, the animals entered the city during the winter through breaches in its walls, and killed at least forty people. After failing to track the wolves down to their dens, the inhabitants of Paris set up a blood trail from slaughtered livestock from the breaches to the steps of Notre Dame Cathedral. Once the wolves took the bait, all breaches were sealed and the wolves were beaten to death. Courtaud's carcass was subsequently put on display and paraded throughout the city.
The wolves became the subject of the novel The Wolves of Paris by Daniel P. Mannix in 1978, which portrayed the wolves as becoming habituated to humans due to the city's lack of sanitation, and having Courtaud be a wolf-dog hybrid.
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