Yeah, it is very annoying, wild animals are unpredictable but are not always an actual threat and the idea that large predatory animals are always enemies in RPGs is something that really annoys me.
Really glad I'm not the only one who feels like this though, last time I made a comment like this on an RPG forum I got really hostile reactions. These forums are more polite though!
In Divine Divinity I used always try to charm wolves to stop them attacking me but at low levels it only works on humanoid creatures. I particularly hate the whimper them make when you kill them. Poor creatures; sorely misrepresented in gaming.
