Sunday, April 13, 2014

THE WOLF--HE IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Before anyone ever starts calling me a wolf hater, I wonder if I might put my stance in a totally different way than anything I've said so far. Please bear with me, all right? And please do read this. I think it might clear up a lot of things.
First, I like wolves. They are beautiful and majestic and loving of their own families. And born and raised to kill, to solve boredom, for exercise, and to eat. We all need to understand this simple truth.
It has been said, and very recently on this wall, that we shouldn't be "killing wolves," and that all we have to do is put them in a more controlled environment. What? You mean like in a zoo? I hope that's what the maker of the comment meant. No, never mind. I already know that isn't what they meant. They meant to put them in a place like Yellowstone National Park. What, and then tell them "STAY"? In a firm, resolute voice? Maybe we need to train them longer to "stay" and then even paint orange lines all around their territory so they won't step out of it. And next, train them not to kill anyone's dog, cat, sheep, goat, horse, cow, llama. Okay, well you get the picture.
The photos I've included here are just a sampling of animals. Let's bring them all back to their native environment. Bison. A bull can weigh over 2000 pounds. Back in their native environment means my garden. My lawn. YOUR golf course. Your city street. Elephants? Same thing. Ask the people living in Africa what kind of damage a herd of 14,000 pound bull elephants can do to the crops they rely on to survive. Grizzlies? Yeah. Your back yard, not mine.
Now let's say that I should turn my 10 rattlesnakes loose. I'm going to do it right here in my yard and not let them go into anyone else's yard. They'll stay. I just have to teach them, right? I want to know a year from now what my neighbors have to say about that. Snakes, like wolves, bison, elephants, and grizzly bears, don't stay. They have NO idea when you put them in a certain place that you intend for them to remain there--not that they would care even if they did know.
I really like wolves. I admire them a lot. They have a lot of great qualities, and they, like bears and bison--and rattlesnakes--symbolize the wild. But unless you want to spend your own pocket money spaying and neutering them to control their populations--you know, so they won't have to be murdered (or what's the fashionable word, slaughtered?), then you need to understand that wolves, like any other animal, cannot be allowed to breed willy nilly, not in our modern world. This is about common sense. All of us--BOTH SIDES--need to leave emotion out of it. The wolf haters and the wolf worshippers need to come together and meet in the middle. This situation is out of control. Why and when did wolves become more important than dogs, horses, cats, any other animal, or even people? It is time to wake up, America. Step back, stuff your hearts back in your chest and trot your brains back out to the forefront. We can enjoy wolves, and the whole call of the wild thing, but still keep them under control. This is a stupid saying and I don't generally use it, but we can't have our cake and eat it too. If we want wolves here as part of our environment, we are going to have to help them to survive. And letting them run rampant across our land with no control is NOT the help the species needs.