The Wisdom of Wolves

Regardless of where you grow up around the world, it is very likely that you heard folklores about wolves which are depicted as demons to be feared and hated. In Chinese folklore, Dongguo and the Wolf is in almost every primary school textbook while the Big Bad Wolf has been in the western culture since Aesop’s fable. While dog, the domesticated cousin, has been universally lauded as human’s most loyal friends, wolf, as a species, is probably the most misunderstood animal in the world.

The book “The Wisdom of Wolves” by Jim and Jamie Dutcher, is a fascinating and riveting read. It is a book based on the authors close observation of a pack of wolves by living together with them for years with a genuine trust between them. Shockingly, the authors saw many reflections of things in the lives of wolves that we value as human beings. Here are some of the observations by the authors.

• They care for their pups with a familiar devotion and share our reflexive instinct to care for youngsters. When wolves encounter pups, related or not, they frequently adopt them.
• They hold a place in society for their elders. 
• They push boundaries and explore, then return to visit their families. 
• They care what happens to one another, they miss each other when they’re separated, and they grieve when one among them dies. 
• They pass knowledge on to future generations, teach their offspring where and how to hunt, where to cross a river, and how to survive.
• Using the words of the authors, they do all of this with a clarity of purpose that we human often struggle to achieve.
• Contrary to the common conception of an alpha being the aggressive one, it is all about responsibilities. Alphas are driven from within to shoulder the well-being of the entire pack. They patrol the boundaries of their territory, looking for danger. They are keepers of pack knowledge—where to find prey and how best to hunt it. Alphas are assured, alert, and compassionate. A true alpha is a leader in the very best sense.

We, as the Earth’s dominant species, need to learn as much as we possibly can, in as many ways possible, to comprehend our intricate interconnections with other animals and with nature as a whole. The more we know about other species, the more we know about ourselves. We often fear because we do not understand. It's liberating to know the universe and our existence are not limited to our fixed understanding. Always be ready and eager to learn and make new discoveries.

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