Why do wolves look so big in hunting photos?

If you’ve ever come across a hunting trophy photo of a wolf before, you may have been struck by how big it looked in the photo. Compared to the hunter, the wolf looks huge! Much bigger than it should, given the size it actually is. Why is that?

This is the topic of WERC Staff’s classroom lesson. When it comes to wolf trophy photos, they tend to look much bigger than they should and there are a few reasons for this. It has to do with:

• How they’re photographed
• The structure of their spine
• Forced Perspective

When compared to other photos that hunters take of their big game kills, wolf photos are different. Most big game is photographed on the ground. Wolves, however, are usually photographed upright, picked up by the hunter. This, combined with the structure of their spine, creates the illusion that they’re larger than they actually are.

Check out Jeremy’s video here or click on the video above to learn more about:

• Why trophy photos are taken
• The difference between a photo where a wolf is upright versus on the ground
• Forced Perspective and how it affects our perception
• The structure of the spine and Elevated Spinal Flexion
• How these photos feed into the misinformation about wolves in our society
• What we can do about it

Watch now!