The Complete Works of Wolf Road

Chapter 1 The Life of the Wolf (1)
Whether in a harsh and harsh climate environment or in a cruel competitive environment in the animal kingdom, wolves can constantly adapt to the environment and constantly change their destiny with their own wisdom and tenacious fighting spirit.Fighting against the sky, people and beasts, it stands proudly in the world with its tenacious life.

Before the prosperity of human beings, wolves were the most widely distributed wild animals in the world.They don't need charity from humans, they just hope that they can live according to their own social order and way of life without being disturbed.It is their persistence and perseverance that cultivate their tenacious vitality and enable them to roam freely in remote and remote places.

1 Thoughts from wolf to man

Humans and wolves have coexisted in the world through countless trials and hardships and cruel competition from ancient times to the present.

Humans and wolves are two different types of animals preserved by the natural iron law of "natural selection, survival of the fittest, elimination of the inferior".They should be dependent on each other and care for each other, but humans and wolves have become very smart in the process of evolution, and both have wisdom beyond the reach of other animals. "One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers", so humans and wolves Clan frictions continue and wars break out.Human beings regard wolves as greedy, cruel and cruel animals, while wolves regard human beings as their biggest and most terrible enemy.

Today, we put aside all kinds of prejudices between humans and wolves, and re-examine the wolves, and we find that human misunderstandings of wolves are too deep.Some characteristics of wolves, certain survival skills, are not possessed by intelligent humans, or humans should learn from wolves.

Let's take a look at the emotion of a person who visited the International Wolf Center in Avery, Minnesota!

When I was visiting the International Wild Wolf Center in Avery, Minnesota, I saw an exhibition hall separated by transparent glass walls so that visitors could see the life of the wolves living in the glass house.At that time, there were about 15 people in that exhibition hall, men, women, and children.The moment I entered the door, my eyes were immediately attracted by a pair of beautiful and deep eyes, and I could no longer move my eyes.I tried in vain to see the way that was watching me and drawing my gaze.So, I had to move my eyes away first.

When I tried to meet this charming gaze again, for the first time, I truly experienced the experience of the wolf family belonging to "myself", not the experience of the wolf family belonging to the memory of the times.The eyes of that mighty alpha male seemed only interested in me.Its gaze made me feel timid and fearful from the bottom of my heart.I believe that this wolf can definitely see through my soul and analyze my breath.At that time, it doesn't matter whether there are glass walls or not between each other.

Since then, the more I know about wolves, the more I am surprised that people still misunderstand wolves so deeply. People in many places think that wolves are vicious, and this view exists in many civilizations.

What is it that makes people so afraid of wolves?One explanation is: in Christian doctrine, lambs represent Christ, and wolves prey on lambs. Naturally, people regard wolves as symbols of evil and terror.

When we consider one thing to be good, we must regard its opposite as evil.Thus, the wolf was considered evil because he was the enemy of the Lamb.

In addition to the psychological factors of belief and culture, the fear of wolves also stems from a practical reason: the needs of wolves and humans are so highly similar, and there are continuous conflicts with each other in terms of food and living space.Wolves are perhaps one of the animals that has the most head-on conflicts with humans.Such strife is so frequent, and its entanglements so intricate, that a certain sense of fear has pervaded the entire course of human history, and people have created many legends about wolves.

"Werewolf" is a monster derived from the fantasy of wolves.In the eyes of early Europeans, the "werewolf" was a cold-blooded killer with Satanic qualities, regardless of men, women and children.If anyone is considered a "werewolf", he will be tortured in the most merciless and cruel way until his last breath.Even someone who is only considered to have certain qualities of a wolf is considered by everyone to be possessed by the devil.

This fear of wolves continues to circulate in the form of myths and fairy tales.The "Little Red Riding Hood" in Grimm's fairy tales is often used to warn young girls who have just tasted the forbidden fruit.The process of the little girl talking with the wild wolf in the story represents "Little Red Riding Hood" step by step towards degeneration and the end of life - the wolf is always an embodiment of evil, representing the demon that lures human beings to degenerate.

The appearance of a wolf is as terrifying as the appearance of a demon.From the fear of wolves, the way to deal with it is revenge—the rounding up and slaughter of wolves.When early Europeans hunted wolves, they often hung them on wooden stakes, poured oil on them, set them on fire, and burned them alive; or tied the wolf's mouth tightly with wire and then released it, leaving it to starve to death in the wilderness ...

Love and hate are intertwined, fear and hatred on the one hand, and love and admiration on the other.The proud qualities of wolves - hunter-like cunning and warrior-like bravery - are revered by European nobles.As a result, raising wild wolves became popular in the Middle Ages, and many princes and nobles regarded raising wolves in the court as a symbol of the ruler's power and majesty.

In America, the Indians are full of respect for the courage, wisdom and incredible hunting skills of wolves. They wear wolf skins and pray for the possession of wolf spirits, hoping to inherit the great skills and abilities of the wolf clan...

People fall into deep myths about wolves...

Human beings convince themselves that these wolves that have multiplied from ancient times to the present still maintain a balanced relationship with human life in the past.However, human myths about wolves are far from reality.People are still clinging to their existing imagination of wolves, not connected with the status quo.

2 Wolves indispensable to human beings

For thousands of years, human "wolf slaughter" has never stopped.Regardless of the fear of wolves as "lambs" or the competition for living space among each other, humans always treat wolves as "spirits of all things" and "rulers of nature". The war between humans and wolves has continued.Until one day, we suddenly discovered that in the lonely universe, humans need wolves.

On the grasslands, deer eat grass, wolves eat deer, hunters kill wolves, it seems to have become a natural rule.One day, the hunter became a shepherd, so he tried every means to eliminate the wolf completely, so that the deer could live more safely.It didn't take long. In the vast wilderness, shadows of deer can be seen everywhere, but traces of wolves are rare.

However, the crisis soon appeared. The deer, which were not life-threatening, multiplied in large numbers, and soon ate up the grass in the grassland. Without food, the deer could not escape bad luck.

In the mid-20s, in the Finnish forests between the Swedish and Norwegian borders, something special happened.

Far from their traditional territory, two lone wolves have recreated a new wolf pack in an unfamiliar place.Some say the wolves have always lived here, while others believe the wolves wandered from Russia.But that seemed unlikely: How could they have traveled thousands of kilometers without being spotted?During the journey, they must cross hundreds of towns and hundreds of highways and countless rivers to get here.But the truth is, two lone wolves found each other in their search for a partner.

Before long, the howling of wolf cubs echoed again in this Finnish forest.Wolves can return to their long-lost home, in fact, rely on another animal - moose.

The moose is the largest deer in Europe, over two meters tall.They depend on grazing the thin turf beneath the snow to survive, but they also eat pine branches or nutritious tree buds.Surviving in this deep snow makes it very difficult for them to run.For a period of time, people hunted moose in large numbers, making moose almost on the verge of extinction.Later, people changed from hunting moose killers to moose saviors.

The major change in protecting the forest over the decades has not only been a lot of new forest, but also more food for moose.However, like many things in the past, human control of the environment has created many new problems.

Before long, the moose population increased dramatically.They gnaw excessively on trees, the ecological balance is broken, food becomes scarce, and forests are destroyed.At this time, people found wolves in the forest, which is a fortunate thing, because they can solve the problem of ecological balance here.

Smart human beings got wisdom enlightenment from it and started a bold attempt.

On a cold winter night, a thick layer of ice had already formed on Lake Superior in the United States.Biologist Professor Peterson took an iron cage containing four wolf cubs, and drove a sled through the frozen lake to Loyer Island.The purpose of his trip was to carry out an experiment never before done in the history of biology—to bring four young wolves to Loyer Island.Unexpectedly, a few years later, there will be a war between wolves and deer.

Loyer Island in Lake Superior is famous for its abundance of moose, but the moose population has caused devastating damage to the island's flowers, plants and shrubs.In just 10 years, Loyer Island was sparsely shrubbed and desolate.

So, the biologists decided to conduct a bold experiment - relying on 4 wolf pups to save the vegetation on Loyer Island.Because wolves will eat a large number of moose in order to reproduce, and the number of moose will decrease, and the island of Loyer will be verdant again.

After several days of trekking, Professor Peterson finally arrived at his destination.He parked the sleigh steadily at the foot of the hill, then opened the door of the iron cage, and the four freed wolf cubs rushed out like arrows and ran towards the island... A few years later, because of the presence of wolves, the island was restored again. Now a lush.

In Australia, there are large grasslands where there were no wolves or rabbits.Some people brought rabbits to this country. These rabbits went to the grasslands. Because there were no prairie wolves, there were more and more rabbits. They dug the grasslands into pits and holes, and ate more than half of the pastures. a great loss.The Australian government was so anxious that it tried everything, but it still didn't work.Later, a large number of barbed wire grids were made and spread on the grassland. The grass could grow, but the rabbits couldn't get out.They want to starve all the rabbits to death in the ground.But this method still failed. The grassland is too big, and the government cannot produce so many wires.Later, a biologist thought of wolves, so he brought in several little wolves.After a few years, the number of rabbits gradually decreased, and the grassland was effectively protected.

We need wolves because they are as much a part of nature as humans.Nature needs a balance.As predators, wolves devour weak, sick, old and young animals, which is cruel to the individual but a boon to the whole—controlling the population of the entire pack.

We need the wolf because it is the most direct competitor of man.Competition is needed in nature, and competition and hunting make animals healthier.If wolves are completely eliminated from nature, terrible famine and rampant disease will follow.Eskimos and Indians knew this well—without wolves, the animals they depended on would grow weaker and healthier.

We need wolves for a more important reason - to save our hearts.The wolf is a model of beauty, nobility and wisdom.They are stoic and strong enough to meet all the challenges of the earth, except guns, poisons, and traps (except humans, in short).In addition, their family norms are also a great example that no one can match.Wolves can be said to be wholeheartedly devoted to their families.They have sensitive, delicate senses and are able to sense the needs of other members of the family.Wolves are extremely loyal to their pack and full of enthusiasm for their partners, and they will never be stingy with their emotions.

We need wolves, because wolves are one of the most complex beings in nature, and their mysteries cannot be simply explained and understood by the human world.Seeking out this secret is another reason we need wolves.

3 Self-respecting and self-loving wolves

Among all the descriptions about wolves, tenacious and unyielding character, inviolable freedom, and independence are the most unquestionable, and also the most prominent characteristics of wolves.

So far, humans have tamed all animals, but only wolves have not been tamed by humans.

Think about it, we saw tigers, lions, cheetahs, etc. doing various actions under the command of animal trainers in the circus. They are all kings of beasts in the eyes of humans.But no one has ever seen a wolf in a circus.Don't think it's because wolves appear weak and unattractive compared to these animals.

In fact, many animal trainers have tried hard, hoping that wolves could perform on stage, but they failed.Even if the wolf is fed from the moment it is born in the same way as domestic animals, it will not make the wildness of the wolf disappear.On the contrary, this wildness will be intensified by the loss of freedom.

Although there are many legends about the peaceful coexistence of humans and wolves on the South American grasslands, wolves will never yield to humans, and will never obey human commands all the time.

In order to make my discussion of wolves more realistic and vivid, I conducted in-depth interviews with local herders in the pampas of Argentina and the savannah of Brazil. During the conversations with them, I heard a lot about the wolf. legends and stories and real experiences of herdsmen.These perceptual knowledge about wolves are integrated in my mind with the scientific knowledge I know to form a more comprehensive understanding of wolves.

In the Argentine pampas, people once dreamed of taming the steppe wolf.Dogs are indispensable animals for shepherds. Shepherd dogs can help shepherds manage the flock and drive away some wild animals that attempt to invade the flock.Wolves and dogs are similar in many ways, but dogs are not as developed as wolves in sense of smell, vision, hearing, etc., and dogs are not as fast as wolves in running. Therefore, herdsmen are eager to tame wild wolves to help them manage their flocks.But all herdsmen's efforts were unsuccessful, and some herdsmen were injured or even lost their lives because of raising wolves.

The old herdsman Krems told me his experience painfully:
When I was 11 years old, my father found a wolf den during a hunt and got 3 pups who still hadn't opened their eyes.At that time, I was very happy.Raising a pup has always been a dream of mine.When the cubs were two months old, their father put chains on them, and the cubs, which could move freely before, lost their freedom.

Every evening, my father would take them for a walk not far from home.Suddenly one day, until after 8 o'clock in the evening, my father still didn't come back, and my mother and I were very anxious.So, ask the neighbors to go out and look for it with us.

Later, the injured father was finally found, his right leg was covered with blood, and he was crawling hard towards home.

(End of this chapter)