Canis lupus hominis

Posted in wild dogs, wildlife, wolves | Tagged Wolf | 11 Comments

11 Responses

1. on March 24, 2013 at 6:36 am chervilmeadow

   Loved the “do it again” request.

   
   
2. on March 24, 2013 at 6:57 am Darwinist

   As long as you remember they are wild animals and take precausions.
   An experienced Swedish female caretaker was killed last year by a pack of wolves, which were considered so “tame” that guests at the zoo were invited to go into their inclosure and interact with the wolves on a regular basis :-(

   
   
3. on March 24, 2013 at 9:10 am Giraffe

   You talk about the acident at the Kolmården Zoo last June.

   There have been one accident in summer 2010 where a visitor got bitten by a wolf. According to the leading zoologist, that wasn’t for the animal’s aggression but a seek for contact (the wolf sniffed the visitor’s coat and then got under the clothes). That we can understand, I think, such can happen with wild animals without the aggression point.

   There have been an incident in summer 2011 where another animal caretaker had to use shovel to keep the wolves away. That was discussed about by the personnel, but obviously seen as a quite normal case, since it wasn’t reported to any higher levels outside the Zoo.

   The Zoo has offered “dates with wolves” for years and these have been very popular. Even handicapped children have been brought to the wolves. To me it seems these partly tame zoo animals have been behaving even nicer than stray dogs put in a cage could have been.

   
   
4. on March 24, 2013 at 4:01 pm bearcoatpei

   Now if only Red Riding Hood’s grandma had known that trick, it could have averted all that negative press the big bad wolf got down in the deep, dark woods.

   
   
   • on March 24, 2013 at 9:12 pm Bridget

     Well, you can’t be too sure about what they really did in the bed..

     
     
     • on March 25, 2013 at 6:44 am bearcoatpei

       “My grandma, what a big… OH MY!”

       
       
       • on March 25, 2013 at 1:55 pm Simba

         This was the moral of Perrault’s version (1697):

         “Children, especially attractive, well bred young ladies, should never talk to strangers, for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for a wolf. I say “wolf,” but there are various kinds of wolves.There are also those who are charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent, and sweet, who pursue young women at home and in the streets. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all.”

         
         
         • on March 26, 2013 at 7:07 pm bearcoatpei

           What a thoroughly charming way to explain the salient traits of a sociopath. Indeed, the two legged “wolves” are far more dangerous and harder to spot than the four legged variety. I always knew from being small that the wolves in this story were 100% human, despite the 18+ parts being left out in the Ladybird fairy story book. Growing up just the other side of the Pennines when the Yorkshire Ripper was committing his crimes kinda filled in the gaps.

           Have you ever seen the movie The Company Of Wolves? An excellent telling of the little red hiding hood story which only really suffered for having tervurens playing the wolves.

           
           
5. on March 25, 2013 at 10:50 am Jessica

   I bet spring belly scratches (to help get out itchy undercoat) are one of the biggest contributors to domestication.

   
   
   • on March 27, 2013 at 11:44 pm Bridget

     And we apes have always been the best animals at picking the ticks out. Wadda relief it must have been .

     
     
     • on March 28, 2013 at 10:01 am bearcoatpei

       So it was us that were domesticated by wolves after all. All our technological advancements have been for one end…

       …the invention of the Furminator.

       
       

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