Otherkin

An otherkin (often "therian" when applied to a mammalian otherkin, and shortened to 'kin) is a person who believes their last incarnation was non-human, and that they have retained characteristics or even memories from this past life.

"Otherkin" usually refers to animal otherkin, but is not necessarily limited to that. Some claim to be anything from fictionkin (a past life in a canonically fictional universe, often invoking multiverse theory) to robotkin (a past life as a robot), though many in the community doubt these claims.

"Otherself" refers to the animal aspect of the person's psyche/soul.

Wolf Otherkin
There's been some criticism by those in and out of the community that there's much more wolf otherkin than any other variety. A few explanations, optimistic or not, have been proposed:
 * Popular culture has made werewolves and vampires look cool, and people seriously looking for non-human characteristics can mistake them for the popular wolf attributes.
 * Additionally, traits like power, beauty, and resilience are culturally prized, making the idea of actually being a wolf in a human body more appealing. However, this doesn't quite explain the lack of other animals like dolphins, sharks, eagles, dragons, etc.
 * Wolves have been hatefully hunted by humans, making them prime targets for reincarnation into a human life.
 * This ignores all the other predators hunted on sight, though that can be potentially explained by the first point.
 * It's regional - people expect to be an animal they're used to
 * Still no bears, dolphins, eagles, etc
 * Experiences with pets, particularly dogs, in childhood might lend themselves to mistaking mannerisms influenced by the pet being mistaken as having an origin in being a canine therian.
 * Dreams of wannabe wolf therians (see the first point) about being a wolf might be misinterpreted as being indicative that they are, in fact, a wolf therian.
 * Misinterpretation of wolf-like behaviors (which are experienced by humans) as indicating that they're a wolf. The placebo effect also feeds into this somewhat.
 * Young members are often told that they're an x otherkin by some friend, even though it's commonly accepted that one's otherself is something that can only be determined personally. This may be because the friend is trying to show they have power or start a community of their own.