|
I have loved wolves since I was very young. I grew up in areas of Idaho and
Utah and used to listen to my grandfather or my great uncles and aunts talk about
wolves in the mountains. I can't recall any exact incident that made me start to like
wolves. I remember going to the zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah as a child and sitting
by the wolf habitat and watching the wolves for hours.
My biggest concern about wolves is the total misunderstanding people have about
them. For years wolf lovers have been trying to tell people the truth about these
majestic animals. I guess most people can't get past all the folklore and fairy tales
. Since the earliest times of recorded history there has been tales of the evil
spirits of the forests (a.k.a. wolves). There are the myths of Werewolves and other
monsters that have been created from the fear of wolves. Even the nursery rhymes
and bedtime stories that are still told to children today have "The Big Bad Wolf"
in them.
Granted there are the occasional stories of wolves being good to humans, for
instance The Jungle Book written by Rudyard Kipling. In this story a
human baby was found in the jungle and raised by a pack of wolves.
There are also stories from cultures, such as the Native American tribes, that tell
of wolves being the kindred brother to the people. But those cultures also live
in harmony with their land, they don't make the land conform to them.
The myths that wolves are savage ruthless killers are wrong. Wolves can show
extreme tenderness toward one another.
They also will go out of their way to avoid humans. As a matter of fact there has
not been a single account of a healthy wolf attacking a human in the United States,
if not the world.
The biggest danger to wolves is mankind, in fact humans are their only natural
preditors. They are blamed for killing livestock and have bounties put on them.
They are killed off because some see them as a threat to their way of life.
If only those people would see that the wolves that have killed livestock did it
out of starvation. By building ranches and pastures for cattle and other livestock
further and further into the last remaining ranges of wolves, it sometimes leaves the
animals no other choice but to eat what is available.
Even now people will say the wolves will be o.k. "What about the reintroduction
of wolves into Yellowstone National Park?", most people ask. But did you know that
a recent court ruling has stated that that particular reintroduction was illegal.
Please spread the word that the wolf is not our enemy, but a vital part of nature.
Don't let this majestic animal become extinct.
Wolves, like all other wildlife, have the right to exist in a wild
state. This right is in no way related to their known value to mankind. Instead it
derives from the right of all living creatures to co-exist with man as part of
natural ecosystems.
From the IUCN Manifesto on Wolf Conservation
This is my section on the recovery of the Mexican Gray Wolf. I post all the latest news that I receive about this program, and I have a archive of past news from when the first wolves were released up until the present. This section means the most to me, so I hope everyone enjoys it.
|
