Wolves endangered by the myths around them by The Red Deer Advocate
Aspen the wolf dog relaxes while Shelley Black conducts one of her presentations on wolves for school children.
Published: March 26, 2008 10:16 AM
The lone wolf: killer of cattle, wearer of sheep’s clothing, eater of grannies and small girls wearing red — if he gets his way.
And let’s not forget all those blown-down straw and wooden houses, scattering poor homeless piggies far and wide.
With such a bad reputation, it’s no wonder wolves are the target of so many people. Even Walt Disney was unable to find a way to make them look good.
Shelley Black realizes she has her work cut out for her, coming to Central Alberta to convince people the wolf isn’t so bad after all. Despite the myths, it’s just another one of nature’s creatures.
“It’s actually very family-oriented, loving and social,” she says.
She ought to know. She and her husband Casey run the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre in Golden, B.C. They have four purebred wolves and two wolfdogs (wolves with some domestic dog in the bloodline), and have been raising and handling wolves for a decade.
“I’m part of the pack. I can honestly say that. They respect me; there’s loyalty there.”
The Blacks don’t promote the breeding or domestication of wolves or wolfdogs, however. They’re simply intent on educating people about the reclusive animals, and changing some of the reputation.
Casey developed his interest in wolves while working as a trainer in the United States. It was suggested to him years ago that if he kept wolves in Canada for photographers and filmmakers to access, he could make a handsome business of it.
They finally decided to try it in their rural home near Golden, first getting a wolfdog, Aspen, who is still one of their stars. But after a few years of seeing filmmakers casting wolves in dark and menacing roles, the couple decided to turn their home into a wildlife education centre as well.
Following the business plan of the International Wolf Centre in Ely, Minn., they opened the centre to the public six years ago. Shelley also travels around giving educational presentations. She’ll be bringing Aspen to meet several Scout groups in Central Alberta, along with public shows on April 4 at Red Deer’s Kerry Wood Nature Centre.
Shelley says the wolf’s reputation as a livestock killer is unfounded; less than one per cent of the wolves on the continent ever kill domestic livestock.
She’s especially annoyed when governments start crying wolf over decreasing populations of prey animals such as deer, moose and elk.
Nature ensures wolf populations increase and decrease with the population of prey animals. She argues what throws matters out of balance is the activity of man causing habitat loss.
“They’re still blaming the wolf for man’s mistakes,” she says.
“Wolves want to stay in the thick of forest; they want to stay away from humans.”
Without the forest, animals like wolves and bears are forced out to compete with people.
“When they get lazy and used to our food sources, then they become a problem, and not until.”
Fortunately the wolf is pretty resilient, and can rebuild a population after governments make efforts to remove them.
“It’s actually been (removed) out of our park system five times, and it’s been strong enough to return.”
It wasn’t able to re-establish in Yellowstone National Park, however, leading the Americans to run a repopulation program using Canadian wolves trapped and transported across the border. The Americans had finally come to recognize the importance of wolves to the environment.
“The wolf is needed in the forest to keep a healthy balance,” Shelley says. “The wolf side of the story is very important.”
She presents that side of the story based not only on Casey’s and her experiences, but the wealth of research on wolves that’s available. The Blacks have assisted other researchers in their work, and hope at some point to lead their own scientific studies, but say there’s already enough research done to back up their perspective on wolves.
She will also have a Karelian bear dog on hand — a Russian breed specialized for hunting bears. They’re the focus of a B.C. campaign seeking legislation to use bear dogs to keep bears out of areas of human habitation, without having to kill the bears.
As serious as wildlife conservation is, her public presentations are fairly “lighthearted,” Shelley says, and people have plenty of opportunity to photograph a wolf up close. She only allows touching in very small groups, however, since animals will be animals, and their behaviour isn’t perfectly predictable.
“That’s why people get bitten by their own domesticated dogs,” Shelley says. “We follow huge safety guidelines.”
She just wants to provide people with a rare opportunity to see the wild animals up close and hear their stories, in hope that more humans will be persuaded to leave the creatures alone in their chosen habitat.
“We don’t promote them as pets. The animals we have here are used as ambassadors to help dispel the myths and fairy tales. They’re here to set an example.”
For more information on the wolf centre, visit www.northernlightswildlife.com. The public presentations run April 4 at 6 p.m and 8 p.m. at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, and cost $20 and $35 respectively. Call the centre at 346-2010 to pre-register.
Contact Carl Hahn at chahn@reddeeradvocate.com
http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/lifestyles/Wolves_endangered_by_the_myths_around_them.html
Jim Pissot, MSc, Director
WildCanada Conservation Alliance
155 Benchlands Terrace
Canmore, AB T1W 1G2
403-678-0016
Published: March 26, 2008 10:16 AM
The lone wolf: killer of cattle, wearer of sheep’s clothing, eater of grannies and small girls wearing red — if he gets his way.
And let’s not forget all those blown-down straw and wooden houses, scattering poor homeless piggies far and wide.
With such a bad reputation, it’s no wonder wolves are the target of so many people. Even Walt Disney was unable to find a way to make them look good.
Shelley Black realizes she has her work cut out for her, coming to Central Alberta to convince people the wolf isn’t so bad after all. Despite the myths, it’s just another one of nature’s creatures.
“It’s actually very family-oriented, loving and social,” she says.
She ought to know. She and her husband Casey run the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre in Golden, B.C. They have four purebred wolves and two wolfdogs (wolves with some domestic dog in the bloodline), and have been raising and handling wolves for a decade.
“I’m part of the pack. I can honestly say that. They respect me; there’s loyalty there.”
The Blacks don’t promote the breeding or domestication of wolves or wolfdogs, however. They’re simply intent on educating people about the reclusive animals, and changing some of the reputation.
Casey developed his interest in wolves while working as a trainer in the United States. It was suggested to him years ago that if he kept wolves in Canada for photographers and filmmakers to access, he could make a handsome business of it.
They finally decided to try it in their rural home near Golden, first getting a wolfdog, Aspen, who is still one of their stars. But after a few years of seeing filmmakers casting wolves in dark and menacing roles, the couple decided to turn their home into a wildlife education centre as well.
Following the business plan of the International Wolf Centre in Ely, Minn., they opened the centre to the public six years ago. Shelley also travels around giving educational presentations. She’ll be bringing Aspen to meet several Scout groups in Central Alberta, along with public shows on April 4 at Red Deer’s Kerry Wood Nature Centre.
Shelley says the wolf’s reputation as a livestock killer is unfounded; less than one per cent of the wolves on the continent ever kill domestic livestock.
She’s especially annoyed when governments start crying wolf over decreasing populations of prey animals such as deer, moose and elk.
Nature ensures wolf populations increase and decrease with the population of prey animals. She argues what throws matters out of balance is the activity of man causing habitat loss.
“They’re still blaming the wolf for man’s mistakes,” she says.
“Wolves want to stay in the thick of forest; they want to stay away from humans.”
Without the forest, animals like wolves and bears are forced out to compete with people.
“When they get lazy and used to our food sources, then they become a problem, and not until.”
Fortunately the wolf is pretty resilient, and can rebuild a population after governments make efforts to remove them.
“It’s actually been (removed) out of our park system five times, and it’s been strong enough to return.”
It wasn’t able to re-establish in Yellowstone National Park, however, leading the Americans to run a repopulation program using Canadian wolves trapped and transported across the border. The Americans had finally come to recognize the importance of wolves to the environment.
“The wolf is needed in the forest to keep a healthy balance,” Shelley says. “The wolf side of the story is very important.”
She presents that side of the story based not only on Casey’s and her experiences, but the wealth of research on wolves that’s available. The Blacks have assisted other researchers in their work, and hope at some point to lead their own scientific studies, but say there’s already enough research done to back up their perspective on wolves.
She will also have a Karelian bear dog on hand — a Russian breed specialized for hunting bears. They’re the focus of a B.C. campaign seeking legislation to use bear dogs to keep bears out of areas of human habitation, without having to kill the bears.
As serious as wildlife conservation is, her public presentations are fairly “lighthearted,” Shelley says, and people have plenty of opportunity to photograph a wolf up close. She only allows touching in very small groups, however, since animals will be animals, and their behaviour isn’t perfectly predictable.
“That’s why people get bitten by their own domesticated dogs,” Shelley says. “We follow huge safety guidelines.”
She just wants to provide people with a rare opportunity to see the wild animals up close and hear their stories, in hope that more humans will be persuaded to leave the creatures alone in their chosen habitat.
“We don’t promote them as pets. The animals we have here are used as ambassadors to help dispel the myths and fairy tales. They’re here to set an example.”
For more information on the wolf centre, visit www.northernlightswildlife.com. The public presentations run April 4 at 6 p.m and 8 p.m. at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, and cost $20 and $35 respectively. Call the centre at 346-2010 to pre-register.
Contact Carl Hahn at chahn@reddeeradvocate.com
http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/lifestyles/Wolves_endangered_by_the_myths_around_them.html
Jim Pissot, MSc, Director
WildCanada Conservation Alliance
155 Benchlands Terrace
Canmore, AB T1W 1G2
403-678-0016
