This adjective that means "cunning" probably comes from the name of a "tamed" insectivore
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a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and ...... 
Not well tamed or broken; given to bad tricks; unruly; refractory; as, a vicious... [DOC] [TLE] Gray Wolf - Canis lupus - Details - Encyclopedia of Life [PAR] Gray Wolf learn more about names for this taxon ... Howling probably helps 
advertise who ""owns"" a particular piece of territory.