By: save_the_earth5
The howl pierced the sky. The howl had come from no other than the wolf. This wasn't the wolf that came from Little Red Riding Hood. Nor was it the wolf that tried to eat the pigs. This was a real wolf. In the wild. Overcoming stereotypes and trying to live and survive without being killed.
Wolves have been pulled into myth and legend. Tales of wolves eating children, stories of werewolves killing inhabitants of villages, these myths have spread around, and the main gist of wolves is: wolves = evil. That is not true. In fact, in the last century, wolves have killed exactly two humans. Two. And how many humans have been killing wolves? More than I can count using my fingers.
But why are people killing wolves? Some of it is based on myth and hate towards wolves. Other wolf killings are for trophy hunters who want to hang a wolf pelage or a wolf head up on their wall.
Sometimes wolves kill cattle. Not always, but sometimes, like when a wolf is hungry and can't find any food except some unattended cows grazing. But just because you see one of your cows missing doesn't mean that a wolf has killed them. Another animal could've killed them. Or maybe the cow wandered off. The possibilities are endless, but somehow the wolf normally gets blamed, whether they actually did kill the cow or not. And then what happens to the wolf? The wolf pack that is blamed for committing the crime is shot from a helicopter. This tends to create more conflict than it solves because you can't see which wolf you're killing from the helicopter. You might be killing the right wolf. You could be killing the wrong wolf. You could be killing the alpha. The alpha is the head of the wolf pack. Imagine if you took away a president and there was no vice president to take their place. It would be very chaotic. This is what happens when the alpha gets killed: the pack goes into a frenzy.
There are very few wolves around in the lower 48 states of the U.S. Laws that take them off the endangered species list mean that wolves are allowed to be killed without being fined or put to jail. Wolves need help. Wolves need your help. And if you do, make sure that they know that wolves don't play the evil role that they do in the books. Those small stereotypes can lead up to a wolf being killed.
(Picture from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/02/belgiums-first-sighted-wolf-in-a-century-feared-killed-by-hunters)
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