The body of a large dog
was found at the side of a road near Morris, Illinois, on Feb. 13. Dogs
hit by cars don't usually make the news. But this dog looked an awful
lot like a wolf.
Illinois conservation police
officers took the animal to a local veterinarian who said it appeared to
be a timber wolf. Conferring with experts in Wisconsin, they found that
measurements of the animal were consistent with those of a wolf.
Illinois Department of Natural
Resources wildlife biologists, along with federal wildlife experts, are
awaiting analysis of the animal's DNA to determine if it's a true wolf, a
wolf-hybrid, or a wolf-wannabe.
Reaction to this creature is as
striking as the fact that the animal was found in Illinois where wolves
were extirpated some 150 years ago. Not being a ranching state, this is
somewhat different from the situation in states like Montana.
But what a stir even one wolf --
or "possible wolf" -- creates. I heard one person say "How wonderful to
have the wolf back in Illinois!" while another person said
sarcastically, "Oh, great!"
Facebook posts run the gamut from "So sad this beautiful baby [sic] died" to "Shoot 'em all!" and "Good riddance!"
What's curious today is that most
of us suburbanites have never seen a wild wolf, yet the very thought of
one -- the possibility of its presence -- evokes immediate, impassioned
responses. What's even more curious is that the responses are polar
opposites.
So what is it about the wolf that
inspires these extremes of emotion? What fuels the flames of passion on
both sides? What if the wolf really does re-establish a population in
Illinois?
We have a long, storied history
with the wolf. Several species of wolves were once widespread across
Eurasia and North America. They also lived in Egypt, Mexico and
Greenland. Wherever wolves and humans have crossed paths, there have
been repercussions. Humans and wolves are both predators with similar
tastes in prey -- deer, elk, caribou, cattle, and sheep. And each can
turn the other into prey.
The wolf is inextricably woven in
the fabric of our history. In mythology the wolf is a deity of war and
the founder of great cities. The wolf symbolizes both life and death in
different cultures. The wolf is demonic, yet it's also a symbol of
protection against evil.
The wolf teaches life lessons in
fables such as Aesop's "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Folklore is replete
with big bad wolves, including Little Red Riding Hood and Peter and the
Wolf. Modern fiction and film have had their share of wolf antagonists
and protagonists (Jack London's "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang").
Walt Disney movies have encompassed both. Lycanthropy, or shape-shifting
from human to wolf and back again, is found in stories from several
cultures.
The wolf is many things, but most
of all, the wolf is scary. It's big. It's powerful. It's mysterious.
It's really no more bloodthirsty than a mosquito, no more voracious
than, say, a teenager. But the sight of the wolf will stop you cold and
its unearthly howl will send chills down your spine.
People have a habit of killing
what they fear, and the wolf is no exception. Killing wolves in Europe
was a centuries-long campaign. From the Middle Ages through the 19th
century, Europeans waged full-scale war against the wolf. Organized wolf
hunts, wolf bounties, and every possible means of slaughter were
brought to bear on the wolf. This carnage, along with habitat loss,
reduced wolf populations throughout northern Europe. Today, there are
pockets of wolves in numerous European countries, yet they occupy a
small portion of their former range.
Europeans took their
long-standing hatred of the wolf to North America. The clash began as
soon as the young United States expanded its reach into the wilderness.
Agriculture, a requisite for nation-building, did not mix well with
these predators. The wolf was vilified as evil incarnate, an obstacle on
the road to claiming -- and taming -- the continent. A nationwide,
no-holds-barred campaign to rid the nation of the wolf was launched in
earnest by 1800. European-Americans were pretty good at hating
predators, and they met with a fair amount of success in stamping them
out. Here in Illinois, the wolf was extirpated by 1860.
The tide turned in the latter
half of the 20th century. With a host of other wildlife whose numbers
had plummeted toward extinction, the gray wolf was listed as a federally
endangered species in 1978. Thus, in a complete reversal, the top
predator that had a bounty on its head a century earlier was now
protected from harm. At least legally. Not everyone was on board.
While persecution of the wolf in
Europe and North America is well documented, it's worth noting that not
all humans have been antagonistic to the wolf. Author Barry Lopez wrote
about indigenous peoples' relationship with the wolf in his 1978 book,
"Of Wolves and Men."
"The Nunamiut Eskimos, the
Naskapi Indians of Labrador, the tribes of the northern plains and the
North Pacific coast," wrote Lopez, do not hold the wolf in contempt.
They admire rather than hate the wolf. The Nunamiut, explained Lopez,
are hunters alongside the wolf, and "it is not a thing to be anxious
over."
Here we are in northern Illinois
in 2015 facing the wolf, again, after a century and a half. I wonder
about the Facebookers who rejoice over the presence of a wolf in
Illinois. How would these folks react if a wolf were to take down Bambi
in their front yard, in front of the kids, at breakfast time? Is it the
ecological reality of Canis lupus that they love, or is it the idea of
the wolf?
Where do they imagine a pack of
wolves would actually live in Illinois' present landscape? We haven't
even figured out how to live with the omnipresent coyotes, small cousins
of the wolf. How on earth could we deal with predators three or more
times the size?
I also wonder about the
whack-em-and-stack-em types who respond to any and every predator with a
loaded firearm. Is life really all about them? Does having an opposable
thumb and an oversized brain really make them superior? Is "just
because I can" a good motive to kill something? Is the loss of another
animal that inconsequential?
One thing is clear: humans are
increasingly disconnected from the nonhuman world. The disconnect
affects attitudes and values, and these determine our actions. This is
evident in our present-day reaction to the wolf.
Whether deified or demonized, the
wolf remains a powerful presence in the human psyche. The wolf's
ecology is intertwined with our own. If wolves continue to revisit
Illinois -- or in the unlikely event that they set up residence -- how
will we respond?
Humility rather than hubris would be a refreshing approach.
Wolf types and sightings
Gray wolf? Timber wolf? What's the difference? There are two species of wolves in North America: the gray wolf and the red wolf. The term gray wolf is often synonymous with timber wolf. The scientific name is Canis lupus, but there are numerous subspecies. The number of these depends on to whom you talk.
The timber wolf is considered to be Canis lupus lycaon. The arctic wolf is called Canis lupus arctos. Some recognize the northwestern wolf as Canis lupus occidentalis. A Mexican subspecies is known as Canis lupus baileyi.
There have been 10 confirmed gray wolves in Illinois in the last 15 years -- maybe more if the Morris creature turns out to be a true wolf. From the University of Illinois Extension website, these sightings include:
• A female wolf was killed by a vehicle in La Salle County in December 2013.
• A female wolf that had been radio-collared in Wisconsin was tracked into Stephenson County in December 2012. The radio-signal was not detected the following week. In March 2013, the wolf was found dead near Apple Canyon Lake in Jo Daviess County.
• A female wolf was trapped and released in Whiteside County in December 2012.
• A male wolf and a female wolf were killed in Jo Daviess County in 2011 about four miles apart.
• A male wolf was killed by a coyote hunter in Kane County in 2009.
• A male wolf was killed by a coyote hunter in Jo Daviess County in 2008.
• A male wolf was killed by a vehicle immediately north of Chain O' Lakes State Park in Lake County in 2005.
• A male wolf was shot in Pike County in 2005.
• A male wolf was shot during a coyote hunt in Marshall County in 2002.
-- Valerie Blaine
Gray wolf? Timber wolf? What's the difference? There are two species of wolves in North America: the gray wolf and the red wolf. The term gray wolf is often synonymous with timber wolf. The scientific name is Canis lupus, but there are numerous subspecies. The number of these depends on to whom you talk.
The timber wolf is considered to be Canis lupus lycaon. The arctic wolf is called Canis lupus arctos. Some recognize the northwestern wolf as Canis lupus occidentalis. A Mexican subspecies is known as Canis lupus baileyi.
There have been 10 confirmed gray wolves in Illinois in the last 15 years -- maybe more if the Morris creature turns out to be a true wolf. From the University of Illinois Extension website, these sightings include:
• A female wolf was killed by a vehicle in La Salle County in December 2013.
• A female wolf that had been radio-collared in Wisconsin was tracked into Stephenson County in December 2012. The radio-signal was not detected the following week. In March 2013, the wolf was found dead near Apple Canyon Lake in Jo Daviess County.
• A female wolf was trapped and released in Whiteside County in December 2012.
• A male wolf and a female wolf were killed in Jo Daviess County in 2011 about four miles apart.
• A male wolf was killed by a coyote hunter in Kane County in 2009.
• A male wolf was killed by a coyote hunter in Jo Daviess County in 2008.
• A male wolf was killed by a vehicle immediately north of Chain O' Lakes State Park in Lake County in 2005.
• A male wolf was shot in Pike County in 2005.
• A male wolf was shot during a coyote hunt in Marshall County in 2002.
-- Valerie Blaine
Valerie Blaine is a naturalist
with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County. You can reach her at
blainevalerie@kaneforest.com.
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