Wolves

It's time, once again, to touch on a pretty volatile subject. I have a good friend who posts these pictures fairly often, and they always end up in pages of comments discussing the image and wolves in general.

Now, most people who know me know that I spent a great many years working with exotic animals, specializing in wolves and wolf mixes. So you might think, well, that picture is sure to piss Epona off.



That's where you would be wrong. Let's talk about the wolf for a little bit.

I love wolves. They are noble, impressive creatures. They have an organized way of living and hunting. Above all, they are predators. Powerful predators.

The government has decided it's a clever idea to introduce the Canadian Grey Wolf into the United States in several areas. Most people think this is a great idea. After all, weren't these wolves here first? Don't they deserve a chance to "reclaim" their homeland?

See, that's where you would be wrong.

There are indeed wolves native to the United States. What people don't seem to understand is that there are MANY subspecies of wolf, each adapted to their own climate and territory, complete with adaptations that help them live, hunt, breed, and survive in their particular environment.

What people aren't realizing is that the wolf native to our lands is a smallish, timid creature, that rarely causes issues with humans, finds enough wildlife to sustain itself, and has a moderate range of territory.

The Canadian Grey Wolf, on the other hand, is a massive creature, with huge paws, thick coat, and a huge territory that it roams. These are the adaptations it has evolved to live up north, where human settlements are further apart and there is larger game to be found.

Do you not see the problem I am getting to? The Government is introducing, NOT "reintroducing" a foreign species into the ecosystem. These wolves do NOT belong in that environment, and have indeed begun to wreak havoc among livestock and native game. They are far more bold than their shyer cousins, and need much more meat to sustain a growing pack. They migrate miles upon miles, ending up far from where the Government "wants" them to be.

So someone posts a picture of a dead wolf and the world blows up. Animal Rights activists and animal lovers are outraged. They parrot false information: The wolf belongs here. The wolf does not threaten humans. The wolf won't kill livestock.

What they fail to realize is that they are simply repeating the tired and false mythology spread by bleeding hearts. Most wolf lore is based upon a study done on a captive pack, and then written about in numerous books and journals. (Julie of the Wolves, anyone?) People begin to take it as truth, when in reality, many of these "facts" have since been proven erroneous.

I have handled wolves. Many wolves. I have handled wolf mixes (I refuse to call them hybrids, as in my personal opinion, the genome of the dog shows it to be merely a very complex subspecies of the wolf, therefor, a mix between the two is NOT a hybrid) extensively. The differences between subspecies of wolves alone is staggering. Everything from behavior, size, habits . . .

So I stand on a fine line between two warring factions. I stand for the right of the wolf, to live it's life unfettered and allowed to be in it's natural state.

I stand against the Government and Animal Rights activists sticking their dirty fingers where they don't belong.

The Canadian Grey Wolf does NOT belong where they are introducing it. It WILL migrate, it WILL destroy livestock, it WILL cause problems.

The American Timber Wolf, on the other hand, STILL exists in our country! Why are we introducing a whole new subspecies when we have one already, one adapted to living in smaller territory, with smaller prey and natural predators.

It just doesn't make sense.

The wolves in the picture above died from human foolishness. Do I mean the hunters pictured? No. I mean the fools who thought up and implemented this moronic introduction of an invasive sub species.