Encounter with Wolves

What is the first thing you think of when you think of an encounter with wolves? For most of us raised in a western culture the story of Little Red Riding Hood walking to grandma’s house and encountering the “Big Bad Wolf” along the way or the three little pigs trying to build shelters to protect themselves from the “Big Bad Wolf.” These images of a scary, dangerous, powerful threat are taught to us from an early age.

In native American legend, the wolf represents a symbol of power, as well as more positive than negative meanings. Since most Native American tribes lived in harmony with nature, animals were part of their lives. In Native American cultures, wolf is considered a symbol of courage, strength, loyalty, freedom and wisdom. The spirit of the wolf is referred to a teacher, even a spiritual guide known as totem animal.

Early humans grew up seeing wolves as their chiefs, guides and even family members. They helped first nations understand how to survive in a hostile world, how to prepare food, how to cook, how to search for water, how to understand the seasons and the climate, how to use hunted animals for meat, clothing and tools, how to build shelter, how to swim, how to communicate. That is not how the European culture thought of wolves and our early (and many current) relatives have hunted the wolve to near extinction.

The first gray wolves reintroduced to the United States were brought in from Canada in the 1990s. Colorado voters approved Proposition 114 in 2020 calling for the state government to create a plan to reintroduce gray wolves to the Southern Rocky Mountains by 2023. The vote was very close, with about 50.4 percent of votes supporting the measure and 49.6 percent of votes cast against it. The decision marks the first time that voters have successfully pushed for a species’ reintroduction. The state does not yet know how many wolves will be introduced, but Proposition 114 calls for Colorado Parks and Wildlife to introduce enough wolves to ensure a sustainable population on former wolf habitat in the western part of the state.

Wolves were hunted to extinction in Colorado by 1940. In the 1990s, wolves caught in Canada were released in Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming. Since then, ongoing species management efforts have expanded the wolf population in the Northern Rocky Mountains to about 6,000 individuals. The federal government removed wolves from the U.S. Endangered Species List. But there are still millions of acres of former wolf habitat in the Southern Rockies that could host hundreds more wolves with reintroduction. ?Watch this four-minute video to see the impact of wolves in Yellowstone.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=wolves+protecting+a+river&docid=608028457468132992&mid=7D7C4B7D38582ECD1F977D7C4B7D38582ECD1F97&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Opponents of wolf reintroduction are concerned about damage to livestock- and hunting-based rural economies. But research has shown that the apex predators keep populations of deer and elk healthy by taking down sick animals, and by extension limit overgrazing. The carcasses wolves leave behind also provide a food source for scavengers like ravens. Proposition 114 specified that ranchers who lose livestock to wolves would be repaid for the loss.

Recently, I along with several member of my family had the unique opportunity to have our own encounter with wolves. This didn’t happen when we took a stroll in the forest to visit grandma, but at an amazing wildlife center near Divide, Colorado, west of where we life in Colorado Springs. https://www.wolfeducation.org/

The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center is one of very few sanctuaries in the United States which has been certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). With this title they are able to go beyond education and into application. CWWC actively participates in the Species Survival Program by providing a home to Mexican Grey Wolves and Swift Foxes. We were able to see a couple of Mexican Grey Wolves and two very rare Red Wolves.

This amazing story began when Darlene Kobobel, in Lake George, Colorado, rescued a wolf-dog by the name of Chinook in 1993. Chinook was two years of age and was going to be euthanized at the local animal shelter because of her “wolf-hybrid” label. Once Darlene learned of the fate of this beautiful animal, in spite of her childhood fears of wolves, she took Chinook home and learned of the issues and controversies regarding wolf-dogs and wolf-dog breeders throughout the county.

Determined to provide a safe haven for unwanted wolf-dogs, Darlene created the Wolf Hybrid Rescue Center. During the first year of operation, the Center was inundated with 15 – 20 phone calls every day from around the country from people who wanted to surrender their beloved wolves. This is when it was realized that the role of providing education was necessary. It has been learned that out of approximately 250,000 wolf-dogs that are born in our country every year, 80% will likely die before they reach their third birthday. Part of the reason is due to people that cannot care for their wolf-dog anymore for one or more reasons, and surrender it to a shelter. Most animal shelters and humane societies usually will euthanize wolf-dogs within 24-72 hours after they are surrendered.

After several locations changes the current center was established on Twin Rocks Road between Divide and Florissant. As of 2017, they have expanded. Some new buildings have been added: a 2000 square foot barn for storage, a hay barn, a meat room that can hold five thousand pounds of food for the wolves, a vet room, an amphitheater for education purposes, expanded enclosures, walking trails, and a new entrance sign. CWWC bought the adjoining property to make twenty acres of sanctuary and wildlife buffer zones.

I want to end this article with some personal thoughts. I confess my thoughts going in were pretty much along the lines of the “Big Bad Wolf” paradigm from my childhood. But after taking the tour around the enclosures and seeing a number of different kinds of wolves. (This is an education and rescue center not a breeding center), my feeling started to change. These magnificent animals (like so many others breeds) have a place in nature. The native American attitude of living with nature instead of trying to shape it to fit human preferences is a better way of looking at nature. It is not a romantic ideal. Yes, wolves are apex predator and kill weaker animals to live. That is what they do but they don’t hunt little red riding hood. The guide told us the pressure of a wolf jaw is five times more than that of a lion. These animals are not pets but they do deserve respect and a place in nature. ?

We paid a little more for a “personal” encounter after the larger tour had left. Our guides led us into one of the enclosures and we “met” two grey wolves. Can you imagine me sitting on a wooden bench with a 100-pound grey wolf coming up to take a treat from my hand (my hand was not the treat)? The guide warned that the wolves were tricky thieves and would take stuff from our pockets. They liked to be scratched deeply, not petted, and some of them, when they were in the mood, liked to give kisses. As a tour group the guide actually got all of us to do a silly action of ‘howling at the wolves’ in unison. Guess what, they howled back. I know that is pretty dumb, but it was a small step towards recognizing that they had a place here as well as humans do.

I grew up on a cattle ranch only three miles from the current location of this center. I have never seen a wolf in the wild. I am not a hunter. Seeing a wolf pack in the wild is probably something I will only see in a National Geographic movie. But this short trip into the Colorado Rockies has changed my perspective. Humans are stewards of this planet not its overlords. Stewardship means creating space for all living things and respecting the order of Nature. The native Americans got it right in my opinion, and my European Caucasian ancestors got some things wrong. Even if I don’t really want a 100-pound grey wolf to give me a kiss, I do want them to exist somewhere.

Encountering wolves is like facing your fears and preconceptions. Sometimes you need to take those opportunities to face them and learn the truth behind the myths. Native Americans hold a deep reverence for nature. American Indian culture respects nature above all else. The concept is significantly intertwined with their society’s beliefs regarding spirituality, both of which act as vital defining aspects of their understanding and way of life. We don’t know it all and sometimes we just need to sit on a wooden bench and just listen, watch, stretch out our hands to give them a treat, and learn.