A Possible Explanation for the number of wolf therians

The other day, I was thinking about the same thing and I wondered the following things:
1. Assuming therianism is NOT to do with the soul, it's a psychological thing.
2. Most of all this psychological shiz is something developed early on, or triggered to occur by something (assuming genes are all in order)
3. Humans grow up surrounded with werewolves being the main animal-shifter stereotype
4. 'Werewolves' seen as more normal, than, say a werehorse
5. Let's simplify that down to wolves.
6. Constant exposure= slowly integrating it into your mindset
7. Boom. More wolf therians.

I don't know how many of you have wattpad, but there's a whole section devoted to werewolves, which makes them sound very appealing. Werewolves don't exist, so the next best thing would be... A wolf therian.


Before I geta barrage of people saying that therians are born, not made, let me explain. Let's say you're born with the potential to be a therian, so the mindset, essentially, and then all you see is werewolf, that's how you'll turn out.
Heheh, tell me what ya think

Except then why are werewolfkin so rare? Werewolves are very common in stories and media, but why would (if that hypothesis were hitting home), people skip over werewolves and go to wolves instead?

In truth, people who identified as werebeasts started the therian community (therian used to not be defined as Earth animal only), but for a long time people who identify as werewolves themselves have been rare.

After all, wolf therians aren't the closet thing to real-life werewolves, werewolfkin are. Its werewolfkin who would have a connection to the Moon, shapeshifting, silver, and/or insert any other combination of folklore or fiction connected to werewolves over the years.

- Cavern-Risen (female, werewolf)

I think the reason werewolf kin are so rare would be to do with the fact that wolves are a more familiar creature that they know about and have read about and are fairly understood- werewolves have no definitive analogy, life-cycle, breeding cycle or habitat and while people can make many assumptions and theories, they can never be proved. So even if someone was a werewolf kin (like yourself) how would they know? There could be so many different types of werewolf kin because there are so many different myths about werewolves. Because this whole process is so confusing to pick out In your brain, and because being a wolf therian is so close to being a werewolf (you still have shifts, just no connection to all the things you mentioned above) is it possible that it's just the easiest way to go? I know it sounds a bit silly, but the human brain will take a short-cut where it can find one and I think this could be one of those times.
Of course the lack of werewolf kin is a really good point and I'm actually so glad you brought it up XD time to re-write my hypothesis!

-Mimi, Mexican Wolf

If it was done to "no definitive analogy, life-cycle, breeding cycle or habitat and while people can make many assumptions and theories, they can never be prove" etc than why are draconics the most common otherkin after therians? Dragons are even more varied in shape and nature than werewolves. Plus not to mention other mythkin and fictionkin kintypes which are also ambiguous which are very common in the overall otherkin community after therians.

- Cavern-Risen (female, werewolf)

This theory is similar to other ones that the community have come up with, but I think it's a good theory anyway; I completely agree with the heavily-advertised werewolf stereotype influencing the subconsciousness.
Perhaps people are not comfortable with the idea of shifting into a half human, half animal creature. I do realise that there are people out there who would love to possess the ability to turn into a wolf hybrid, but they would have little interest in therianthropy and instead seek out werewolf communities that advocate physical shifting and whatnot. The ones who prefer a proper, run-of-the-mill wolf might be more inclined to check out therianthropy and thus come to the conclusion that they are a wolf therian.
I think the reason why there are relatively few "true werewolves" (as in a type of Otherkin) is because people who are more likely to be a werewolf go to other sub-communities such as fantasy werewolf fan groups (think Twilight). Or perhaps they are more interested in draconics and other similar Otherkin.
Perhaps a more "exotic" creature impacts the mind more strongly than a common stereotype.

If I have somehow affronted someone by this post, then I offer my apologies in advance. These are some of my thoughts on the subject; it is merely to sustain the discussion.

Even though I am of the spiritual origin to my Therianthropy, I subscribe to the logical/psychological aspect as well.

So based on that, I feel the simple fact that (for most, I wasn't one) people romanticize wolves and since they are the precursor to the modern day dog then it's only common some will see traits within themselves they feel to be canine as well. Like one said above, it's once they start researching what real wolves do, how they act. They don't have alpha omega pack status, they don't all "band up" to form a pack, it's literally the family, mating pair, offspring, RARE occasion that a pup is left alone a near by pack might take it in. Or if a breeding pair female or male is lost, then another male or female will step in.

But it's far from what Hollywood depicts. However most of hollywood keeps to werewolves. But to that end, they use feral wolf form for their werewolves too. So people see that and might think that's really how feral wolves (real ones) act.

Myself I was never into wolves. I was too focused on werewolves, and thus thought I was one for about 18 years of my life, thinking what else could I be.

Later on meeting others that said they had the soul of a wolf began to think I might be that instead. But still until I did my research into myself and my theriotype species. I didn't know a darn thing really. That alone took over a year, still going.

So those that walk in that's usually their first. Some times it's right, sometimes it's not.

But this is one of the first questions I asked in a group like this. Why so many wolf therians?

CloudFoot Wrote:It's an interesting theory! I think maybe if that were the case though, there would also be similar if not equal levels of cat and horse therians, since those animals also interacted very closely with humanity's primitive ancestors.

I don't know lots about history, so I may be wrong here.
I think that humans began to interract with canine early in human history (at least 6-8 thousands years ago?). But when did they began to interract with felines and horses? It was some thousands of years after I believe. So humanity had had a lot of time between those events. Humans are far from being still, they evolved during that time. At the end, it's very possible that they ended up thinking of animals as lesser beings when they came to use cats and horses while they didn't thought that way back to when they began to be "social" with canines.
So maybe humanity just spent more time with canines and were in a different mindset toward them.

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CloudFoot Wrote:It's an interesting theory! I think maybe if that were the case though, there would also be similar if not equal levels of cat and horse therians, since those animals also interacted very closely with humanity's primitive ancestors.

I don't know lots about history, so I may be wrong here.
I think that humans began to interract with canine early in human history (at least 6-8 thousands years ago?). But when did they began to interract with felines and horses? It was some thousands of years after I believe. So humanity had had a lot of time between those events. Humans are far from being still, they evolved during that time. At the end, it's very possible that they ended up thinking of animals as lesser beings when they came to use cats and horses while they didn't thought that way back to when they began to be "social" with canines.
So maybe humanity just spent more time with canines and were in a different mindset toward them.

Hi! I am Beta!

I believe people immediately go to wolves because, well, that is what werewolves are, in their eyes. They could be like "Oh, I'm a therian? And therian also means 'were'? Welp, that must mean I'm a werewolf!"

They could think that they are werewolves because they identify as a wolf. That could be the reason why there are not many werewolves, because those who are 'wolf therians' must already think they are 'werewolves' in a sense. It would make sense, though.

Since Werewolves are more common then weresharks, werelions, etc. online, they think that they are werewolves, not even looking it up, just assuming.

Welp, that is just a hypothesis, and I'm half asleep, so there you go, that's my best!

I love this theory! I can see how it can be quite a plausible reason behind it along with what Dust said. Even if it is or is not true it gave me some food for thought and I learned some new things today! So thanks ^w^

I like this theory thanks for telling us it is very possible I think that wolves are very relatable creatures so it makes sense why their are so many wolf therians.