Through the Eyes of the Wild: How I briefly Understood the Fury of Wolf HatersToday is International Wolf Day 2019, and it comes at a difficult time for anyone advocating for wolf conservation. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is being destroyed, a rare wolf attack in Alberta has given wolf haters 6 months worth of ammo (note that the wolf was old, emaciated, and desperate upon veterinary examination), Washington officials ordered the gunning down of a wolf and two puppies (with plans to kill the entire pack), and the major wolf hunting season opens in a month. Everywhere I look, it seems that all I see and hear are rants, posts, signs, bumper stickers, and carcasses filled with hatred for wolves. Hunters are eagerly awaiting when they can (legally) kill wolves, saying that they want to kill as many as possible to prepare for elk hunting season. The logic there is, I'm going to kill as many wolves as possible so that I can kill as many elk as possible. Naturally, it makes zero sense, but it's a common ideology. People hate wolves. Like, they really hate them. Why? There's an entire list of reasons, but the most common are 1) hunters believe wolves are decimating elk, moose, and other ungulate species; 2) westerners believe that the "wrong wolf" was reintroduced in 1995, and done so illegally; 3) westerners believe humans have replaced wolves as the apex predator of North America and their ancestors had "good reason" for eradicating wolves in the past; 4) ranchers believe wolves are a huge threat to their livestock; 5) people think wolves will attack people at any opportunity; 6) people think wolves kill for fun (ironically, it's sport hunters I hear this argument from the most). The list goes on, and you can see some of these myths debunked here. I've received a lot of hate both towards me and the wolves. Death threats, mansplaining, name calling, promises to send me pictures of dead wolves, belittling, and a whole lot of stupidity. Some of the anger, to peoples' defense, is justified (the filth and threats are not). Folks have lost livestock and pets to wolves and other predators and although in nearly every instance I can find some way the person could have better prevented the loss, I always sympathize. But I can never understand some people's blind hatred that seems to target wolves particularly adeptly. Face to Face with ElkAfter months of trying to wrap my mind around such blind hatred, a couple days ago I briefly understood why some people may despise wolves so much. It was two days after I'd flown about 24 hours back to the states from Tanzania. I'd spent a month there studying carnivores and human-carnivore conflict amongst the local people, including the Maasai. I wrote another blog post on that here. But I couldn't go a week without wildlife, so I drug my boyfriend to the closest Africa I could find, which turned out to be the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, NC. Although some zoos are scams, the NC Zoo is the largest habitat zoo in the world, so the animals roam on huge areas of land that mimic their wild homes. Half the zoo includes African animals/exhibits while the other features those hailing from North America. I'd seen elk before, albeit from far away, and also heard bull bugling (when males basically screech to attract mates). But most of my interaction with elk has been trying to get accurate population numbers (not an easy task) in the eight wolf states and reading reports going back to the 1910s in order to show people that in fact, wolves are not decimating elk. Though I still respected and appreciated elk, I'll be honest. I'd harbored a share of bitterness for them. It's hard not to, after hearing and receiving the horrific words from people, particularly elk hunters, that blamed wolves for the loss of their precious elk (that they enjoyed killing, go figure). Then, I got up close to a herd of elk cows. It was extremely hot, so the cows were lying by the fence line, chewing their cud underneath the shade. Up close, they were much bigger than I'd imagined. And though loathe I am to call an animal ugly - I think hyenas are beautiful and fascinating- the cows were not exactly pleasant to look at. My boyfriend went and sat down to watch the bison, but I stayed with the elk. As I continued studying the cows, my appreciation for them suddenly turned into something darker. Here were the animals (indirectly) responsible for so much of the hatred, violence, and cruelty toward my wolves. And look how stupid and ugly they were, doing nothing but chewing regurgitated grass. For a split second, the bitterness turned to rage and I wanted to grab my bow and shoot all of them dead. Then, one turned her head and looked at me. For a moment, I just glared at her. Then, something in my heart constricted and I took a breath. When most carnivores like wolves or lions look at you, they seem to pierce your eyes into the depths of your soul. Their stares are almost like challenges built up from constant violence with other carnivores and with humans, a sort of I can take care of myself. The stares are also deeply spiritual, at least for me. I can feel the carnivore's soul, its spirit, its wildness and wisdom. It may seem ludicrous and cheesy, but I swear on my life that's the feeling. Just try coming so close to a lioness that you could touch her, and her golden eyes turn to stare at you- you'll get the idea then. But animals like elk don't stare into your soul. They stare slightly past you, focused on both you and the area behind you, as if silently saying I see you and I also see an escape route, so don't even think about it. In a way, the elk cow's eyes were completely and utterly innocent. They reminded me of elk's contribution to the ecosystem: as grazers and browsers, they kept vegetation from growing too much and causing too many forest fires; they provided food not for just wolves but for coyotes, ravens, even sparrows that use their suet. I lost all the anger, but I realized I had experienced, briefly, similar feelings to wolf haters. Whether for their own benefit or not, these people see wolves as useless vermin, destructive, and cataclysmic to the population of elk that they care about (or at least care about so they can be shot regularly). How unfortunate for the elk that their advocates are also almost always the same people who come hunting them come fall, while wolves' advocates would never dream of stalking and killing them. It had only taken me thirty seconds to realize that my anger toward the elk was unjustified, that they serve a purpose in the ecosystem, and the only creature that had the power to completely destroy it was me. If only wolf haters could take a moment to go through this same thought process, to look into the eyes of a wolf and truly feel its soul, and to realize that they belong in the ecosystem. A Lesson From a WolfWe often forget how much animals can teach us, as we're caught up in our own human prowess and pride. We forget that our ancestors survived by mimicking wolves - how they hunted, how they cooperated in a society in order to make ends meet. But when it comes time to blame something for "fewer" elk or livestock deaths occurring in national forests, people jump at the chance to point fingers at wolves. Just this month, Washington State ordered the slaughter of a pack near Prosperity Peak after the pack had predated on some livestock in the area. But the pack's hunting boundaries were in a national forest, where ranchers were given permission to bring their livestock. Rumors abound that the ranchers purposefully took their livestock close to the wolves' den to provoke them and therefore make it easy to eliminate them. The truth of the rumors hardly matters. If wolves cannot even be safe in their own homes, how do they stand a chance when human greed, commercialism, and profit are doing everything they can to destroy them? This International Wolf Day, I implore you to remember not just wolves, but all of wildlife. If predators were really so detrimental to ecosystems, they would have driven species extinct. Yet, humans are the only creatures that have been responsible for the nonnatural extinction of species. Wolves are very much like people. They live in families, respect their elders, don't take kindly to strangers, care for injured/sick pack mates, work together raising puppies, cooperate in hunting, share resources with each other, mourn losses, sing with each other, and will stop at nothing to protect their families. Maybe some people hate wolves because they're a direct reflection of themselves, but so much more noble and wild than they could ever be. Maybe some people hate wolves because they wish they could be wolves, or that they know perfectly well that wolves are the mots skilled hunters in their woods. But then again, with humanity's propensity for evil towards our own kind- torture, discrimination, war, selfishness, and greed- maybe the hatred of wolves has more to do with the human darkness than with fear or lack of education. After all, if humans can't even love each other and look after our own, what hope do wolves and wildlife have? Not much, unless we all learn to look into the eyes of wolves, into the eyes of elk, squirrels, lions, parrots, praying mantises, and every creature with whom we share our home. And not unless we look into those wild eyes, see ourselves reflected back onto us, and realize that our souls howl the same songs. Instagrams:
Wolves & Carnivore Conservation: @pounceconservation Personal: @aspen_marie_stev Email: [email protected] Please share on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
26 Comments
Pamela W
1/25/2021 04:29:07 pm
Very eloquently written. This was also an interesting perspective, and one I had never thought of (blaming the elk for persecution of wolves). Maybe it will make me slightly more understanding towards wolf-killers, though that’s a stretch.
Reply
Begoña
8/3/2022 05:14:57 pm
Ive enjoyed reasigne this articule so much. It has been moví y, thought provoking and personal. Great work
Reply
9/12/2022 03:22:26 am
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://odemebozdurma.com/
Reply
9/30/2022 09:30:06 am
It's great to have this type of content. Good luck with your spirit. Thank you. https://bit.ly/site-kurma
Reply
10/4/2022 09:12:21 pm
I think this post is useful for people. It has been very useful for me. Looking forward to the next one, thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/elazig-escort/sivrice-escort/
Reply
10/5/2022 04:51:18 am
It was a post that I found very successful. Good luck to you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/eskisehir-escort/
Reply
10/6/2022 03:26:46 am
I follow your posts closely. I can find it thanks to your reliable share. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/kastamonu-escort/hanonu-escort/
Reply
10/7/2022 08:01:58 am
I think the content is at a successful level. It adds enough information. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/erzurum-escort/olur-escort/
Reply
10/7/2022 05:10:56 pm
Thank you for your sharing. I must say that I am successful in your content. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/istanbul-escort/umraniye-escort/
Reply
10/8/2022 01:05:29 pm
Thoughtful and real content is shared. Thank you for these shares. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/kocaeli-escort/golcuk-escort/
Reply
11/22/2022 02:46:33 pm
Hemen Göz At evde para kazanmaya basla: https://sites.google.com/view/evden-ek-is/
Reply
12/10/2022 12:40:57 pm
kaliteli düşmeyen takipçi satın al: https://takipcialdim.com/
Reply
12/10/2022 02:55:55 pm
İnstagram beğeni satışı yapan firmamıza göz atın: https://takipcialdim.com/instagram-begeni-satin-al/
Reply
12/10/2022 02:56:35 pm
Tiktok takipçi satın almak için tıkla: https://takipcialdim.com/tiktok-takipci-satin-al/
Reply
12/16/2022 08:54:05 am
takipçi satın al ve sitemizi ziyaret et: https://takipcim.com.tr/
Reply
1/8/2023 11:28:20 am
100 tl deneme bonusu veren siteleri öğrenmek istiyorsan tıkla.
Reply
6/30/2023 11:29:22 am
En iyi gümüşhane ilan sitesi burada. https://gumushane.escorthun.com/
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Details
Archives
April 2020
Categories |