The folklore, fairy tales, and legends of many nations and peoples show evidence of belief in creatures who lived alternately as men or women and as animals, borrowing the shapes of predators that plagued their particular homelands. 

In Europe, the wolf is the prevalent animal form for shapeshifters. It appears in almost every country and subculture.

In regions of the world where wolves are scarce, or not present at all, humans are sometimes portrayed as transforming into bears, leopards, tigers, or hyena and become Windigos, werebears, werecoyotes, wereleopards, weretigers, ravens, werebats, wererats ....