Werewolves and Bears

In Balto-Finnic mythology, the werewolf and the werebear often share similar story traits. This can lead to confusion over which species is being spoken of and whether tales of supernatural bears are those of werebears, werewolves, or shape-shifting shamans and witches. However, just as there are dog-faced people that are not werewolves, there are also bear-faced people that are not werewolves.

Additionally, there are those human tribes that identify with the “spirit” of animals such as wolves and bears (separate from werewolves and werebears).