in the feast created; the prey animal’s gift to the world. Less and less remains of the carcass, but the life gained for all!! Amazingly, trees begin to flourish along the stream sides. Nesting birds return, filling the day with their songs. Following those, butterflies once again find a safe haven, caterpillars spinning their chrysalises then emerging to fill the air with a glittering flutter of wings. As the land begins to revive itself, each year brings new growth and new habitats for an endless variety of species. Green and growing once more, throbbing with life and vigor, the forest sings with a rhapsody of life. Years of torture begin to be wiped away, scars still remain, true, but given enough time even those will fade. Animals once plentiful, then driven to the brink of existence; bright lives winking out, dark-ening our world. They return once more; growing stronger each season as the cycle of life begins to flow back into its former shape. Babies are born, grow up, grow old and return to the earth, all play-ing their part in the play that is life. All of this cre-ated by returning me to the lands of my ancestors; allowing me to be what I was born to be: running free.

Robin is a traditionally trained Usui Reiki Master, who specialises in Animal Reiki, and a develop-ing spiritual channeller. She is a jewellery maker, artist, crafting wizard, cake decorator and laugh maker.

She is a lover of all kinds. She truly sees no dif-ferences and embraces unity and equality among all. She is an excellent writer and spreads inspiring and empowering messages. She is also silly, funny, quirky, a bit of a geek at times, believes in magic, unicorns, dragons and the power of the heart to overcome all obstacles. She is currently residing in Florida with her furry family and a dragon.

Interested in this talented person? Find more info here:https://www.facebook.com/ScenickViewzscenickviewz@gmail.comTwitter: Scenick Viewz

The Return of the Big Bad Wolfby Naomi Walker

Who’s afraid of the big, bad wolf? Well, the Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood certainly have good reason to be. But outside the realm of the fairy tale, are wolves really quite the blood-thirsty, in-discriminate killers we are led to believe?

Unlike other large predators, the grizzly bear for example, wolves are perceived by many as vicious killers who slaughter wildlife, domestic livestock, pets and hu-mans, if given the chance, with no other motive but to satisfy their raging blood-lust.

A universal symbol of menace, the wolf is even used by some parents as a threat to instil discipline in children. Wolves are demonised in popular horror fiction, re-sulting in a reputation that is somewhere between a natural predator and a super-natural monster.

The wolf has become a modern arche-type for evil. The mere mention of these

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creatures causes con-cern and even hysteria in some circles.

At one time, wolf packs thrived across many cold areas of the world including North America, Canada, Rus-sia, Europe and Ja-pan. Today their num-bers are far, far fewer. When humans fear something, they usu-ally try to eradicate it. We have all but suc-ceeded in this with the wolf, hunting them to the point of extinction across the planet. As well as hunting, we have destroyed their habitats and driven them out of their tra-ditional territories.

Many farmers and live-stock owners would do nothing to discourage our dread of wolves. The reintroduction of wolves has been pro-posed in several areas and, in each one, the plans have been met with massive opposi-tion from the farming communities and local residents.

One ranch owner, at a meeting to discuss reintroduction in Al-buquerque, described a wolf attack in which “wolves grabbed a cow and proceeded to

eat on her till she bled to death.”

During the same meeting, it was asked by the pro-wolf con-tingent why death by wolves is more repre-hensible than death by slaughterhouse?

This is an interesting point and may well be indicative of our

unnatural aversion to wolves.

Indeed, it is also re-ported that, after wolves were re-intro-duced to Yellowstone National Park, a wolf attack on a cow calf received more space in the local media than a homicide in the same area.

It seems we are reluc-tant to give our child-hood villains a chance to prove themselves as something other than monstrous.

The wolf is a ‘keystone’ species, this means that it is key to main-taining the balance of the local ecosystem. Changes in the popu-

lation of a keystone species have a dispro-portionately large ef-fect on the environ-ment. The effects of completely removing a keystone species can be catastrophic.

For example, the grey wolf was hunted out of existence in Yellow-stone Park. This led to a huge rise in the number of elk. The elk over-grazed the land and this, in turn, di-versely affected other grazing species. This one factor caused a large shift in the park’s biodiversity. Species went into decline, af-fecting still more spe-cies. Scientists call this ripple effect a tro-phic cascade.

After wolves were re-introduced to Yellow-stone National Park, scientists discovered that grazing land, and other vegetation sen-sitive to over-grazing, recovered. This, they reported, was not be-cause the wolves were killing off large num-bers of elk. Instead, it was because the elk, aware of the threat of wolves, were no lon-ger standing and graz-ing for long periods of time in the same place, like domestic cattle.

Wolves also help the ecosystem in another way. Unlike grizzly bears or some oth-er large predators, wolves leave behind the remains of their kill once each member of the pack has had enough to eat. This provides a food source for other scavenging animals.

We are having fewer harsh winters due to global climate change. This means that there are less casualties of the cold weather – a food source that many scavengers largely de-pend on. Without the remains of wolf kills, other scavengers suf-fer.

Wolf attacks on hu-mans are extremely rare as wolves are naturally fearful of humans and will steer clear of us if they can. In fact, compared to other carnivorous mammals known to attack humans, wolves are among the least threatening for their size and preda-tory potential. The few attacks there are, usually have a causal relationship with hu-man intervention. For example, over hunting and poaching of natu-

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ral food sources, habitua-tion or provocation.

Attacks on cattle are unlike-ly. Sheep are not likely to be targeted if they are protect-ed by dogs, as wolves are naturally fearful of dogs.

Predation is not murder, wolves are not vicious, un-relenting killers. They are large, predatory animals that kill to survive.

Our knee jerk reaction to-wards wolves has resulted from our anti-wolf condi-tioning. This has to be ad-dressed. We have hunted this species to the point of extinction in many areas be-cause of our fears and preju-dices.

Recent films, such as Frozen (2010) and The Grey (2011) have reinforced the nega-tive image we have of this animal. The synopsis of The Grey, a film about the sur-vivors of a plane crash, de-scribes how ‘a pack of mer-ciless wolves haunts their every step.’ Can wolves re-ally be negatively labelled merciless? Mercy is surely a human emotion and one that is lacking in all animals. Wolves do not haunt, they hunt.

If our modern media is able to create villains so eas-ily, perhaps we can use the power of our information-rich lifestyles to re-educate too?

• The wolf is the largest of the wild canine family with adult males weighing an average of 100 pounds and females slightly smaller.

• The wolf is the top predator in its natural food chain. It is also a keystone species.

• Wolves in their natural habitat live in a pack which usually contains less than 8 members. The pack contains a com-plex hierarchy of males, females and young.

• All members of the wolf pack take part in the care of pups.

• Wolves can be white, grey, brown or black with many varia-tions.

• Wolves are very sociable and communicate with others by using scent marking, vocalisation, facial and body postur-ing. They howl to greet one another, to let others know their location, to call the pack together and to define their territory. Submissive behaviour plays a large part in main-taining the balance of power within the pack.

• Populations of grazing animals are kept healthier by wolves. Wolves catch and kill the old, diseased and weak, leaving a stronger gene pool within the herd.

• In cold weather, wolves sometimes wrap their tails around their faces to keep them warm.

Wolf Facts

Sources & Further ReadingThe Wolves and Humans Foundation

Reintroduction or Destruction: The Controversy over Wolf Re-introduction.

Wolves in Nature

Wolves alleviate impact of climate change on food supply - a study by Sarah Yang

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