Cheyenne's Howl

Printed in Mountain Messenger on Friday January 24, 1997

Role Within EcoSystems

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Myths, lore, legends, and the movies have created images of the Wolf that cause people to fear us, while in reality wolves in the wild are shy, intelligent animals that have a sophisticated social order. We mate for life and live together in families. All of us participate in the care of the wolf pups. We stay within our family group and learn from the older members how to survive. We also take care of the sick or injured in our pack.

The vast expanses of the Northern hemisphere is where wolves once roamed. In fact the very site of your own home was probably at one time or another crossed over by one or more of my ancestors. We play a critical role within the ecosystem by helping to perpetuate healthy populations of deer, elk, moose, and many other species. We do this by culling out the sick, old, lame, or otherwise vulnerable members of the herd. By preying upon these individuals, we contribute to the overall health and vigor of the prey species. Many humans accuse us of going after their trophy animals and use that as an excuse to try to justify eradicating us. If they would stop and think for a moment they would realize that we would avoid attacking healthy and robust animals, as that would be suicide or at least the possibility of some serious injury. We do not like having our teeth or ribs kicked in by some animal who does not want to be a part of our dinner. I, myself, do not have to worry about having to chase after my dinner. Sopp and Truscott, the local bakery, provides me with my favorite rice and Safeway in Idaho Springs supplies me with all the meat and chicken I can eat. As long as I have spending money, I won't have to chase anything to get my meals. However, occasionally Dad is a little late about bringing me breakfast or dinner. We wolves have long memories so some day ... Oh, another apple and a carrot too. You are forgiven Dad.

DID YOU KNOW?

*When wolf cubs are about two weeks old, their eyes and ears open. Their eyes are a deep blue and will begin to change to brown or yellow/amber by the time they are eight weeks old.

*A wolf cub or pup can eat more than two pounds of food daily which keeps the adult wolves busy hunting for food.

*An adult wolf can eat as much as twenty pounds of meat in one meal and because of its fast digestive system could do this several times a day.

In closing, today I would like to say "Hello" to my two favorite people in Antarctica, Bill and Kim. Hope you guys are staying warm. Remember, goose down jackets are warmer than fur coats. Where is that goose anyway?

Cheyenne