Fierce canine predators. Wolves were frequently allied with the forces of evil and they were sometimes used as mounts by Orcs known as wolf-riders. White wolves were a breed found in the far north. The most feared and deadly type of wolves were the Wargs of Wilderland.
Wolves lived in northern Middle-earth. They infested Eriador before the end of the Watchful Peace, and in 2327 wolves killed Aragorn I, the Chieftain of the Dunedain. Eriador continued to be plagued by wolves for many years afterwards. During the Fell Winter of 2911, white wolves from the North crossed the frozen Brandywine River and entered the Shire. The Horn-call of Buckland was used at this time to rally the Hobbits to drive out the wolves. During the War of the Ring in 3018-19, wolves prowled outside the walls of Bree.
Saruman kept wolves in dens beneath Isengard, and during the War of the Ring he sent Orcs mounted on wolves into battle. Saruman's wolf-riders were ferocious and deadly. Horses feared the wolf-riders because the wolves tore at their bellies. The wolf-riders usually attacked individuals or small groups, but they could also attack larger companies by charging through gaps in the ranks.
The wolf-riders slew many horses of the Rohirrim at the First Battle of the Fords of Isen on February 25, 3019. At the Second Battle of the Fords of Isen on March 2, swift and silent wolf-riders surprised the Rohirrim and divided the forces of Elfhelm and Grimbold. The wolf-riders continued on toward Helm's Deep, where Saruman's forces were defeated in the Battle of Helm's Deep on the night of March 3-4.
Wargs were a particularly evil, demonic kind of wolf. They were intelligent and capable of speech and they had their own language. Wargs were vicious killers, but their weakness was their fear of fire.
Wargs lived mainly in Wilderland on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains. In 2941, the Wargs joined forces with the Orcs and planned to attack the Woodmen who had made settlements in the eaves of Mirkwood. But when the Wargs arrived at the rendezvous point, they instead found Gandalf the Grey along with thirteen Dwarves and a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins up in the trees. Gandalf threw pinecones burning with magical fire down at the Wargs, wounding their chieftain and setting a number of others ablaze. The Wizard and his companions were then rescued by Eagles.
The Wargs were enraged and sought revenge. They joined the gathering forces of Orcs at Mount Gundabad and marched eastward to the Lonely Mountain. There the Wargs and Orcs fought the Dwarves, Wood-Elves, and Lake-Men in the Battle of the Five Armies. Many of the Orcs rode wolves into battle. In the end the Orcs and Wargs were defeated. Afterwards, the Beornings kept the lands inhabited by Men on the western edge of Mirkwood free from Orcs and Wargs.
In January of 3019, a group of Wargs crossed to the western side of the Misty Mountains and they attacked the Fellowship in the early hours January 13. The Fellowship took refuge on a hilltop and fought the attacking Wargs. Gandalf set the ring of trees atop the hill on fire and Legolas slew their chieftain with a flaming arrow. The remaining Wargs fled into the night.
The next morning, there were no Warg carcasses to be found though the Fellowship had slain many in the night. It is not known whether the Wargs had been acting independently or had been sent by Sauron or possibly Saruman, but Gandalf implied that it was not by chance that the Wargs had waylaid the Company of the Ring-bearer. The Warg attack was instrumental in the Fellowship's decision to enter the Mines of Moria.
Wargs are sometimes referred to by the general term "wolves." Gandalf called one of the Wargs "Hound of Sauron."
