The Mt.
Kisco Childcare After School program took a trip
on Wednesday to the Wolf Conservatory Center in South Salem, and six year old
Adrianna was not hesitant to let her affections known despite fables such as
Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. “They are so cute, soft and
fuzzy,” she said. But unfortunately the human race has long chosen to believe
fairy tales rather than trying to understand the wolf, and we have nearly
pushed the species to extinction as a result.
America once home to 250,000 wolves, the number dwindled to
500 by 1970 as fear won out. “People thought wolves wanted to eat us,”
Teddy shared what he learned.
But the
truth historically cowers like a wolf pup in the face of his alpha’s stern
tail. “Wolves are afraid of us,” said Joseph B as he actually
witnessed Alawa keeping his distance behind the chained linked fence that
cordons off 20 acre sanctuary.
The myth dispensed for the kids, the reality of disappearing
wolves began to clue humans in on the important role the canines play in the
ecosystem. For instance, the hunting and killing of wolves in Yellowstone
National Park caused the elk population to explode and decimated the plant life
as herbivores had free reign to feed.
In turn, smaller animals moved on as their food supply
disappeared.
The early 70s finally had the park realizing their mistake and
introducing wolves back in brought Yellowstone back to its original splendor.
“The park healed itself,” said Spencer the conservatory guide.
Taking the information in, Joe C had an idea of his own to bring
the wolf back nationwide. “We can speak to everyone, and tell them not to hurt
wolves,” said the third grader.
But if he could speak wolf, he has a pretty good idea what they
might say after the poor way we’ve treated them. “We give you a lot of love so
why don’t you give some back,” he pretended.
So as might be expected, the humans failed in their attempts to
open a dialogue – the wolves mostly ignoring the chorus of human howls. “They
knew we were people, and we couldn’t fool them,” Camilla said of the three
wolves who made a quiet appearance before the kids.
25 more making the conservatory their home, being fruitful and
multiplying doesn’t have the population growing exponentially, according to
Spencer. “When pups are born, some are taken from the litter and are
introduced in the wild in North Carolina,” he says. “This works pretty well to
get them acclimated to nature.”
Those
left behind get three squares a week, which usually comes from all the dead dear
found on the local highways. The hunting part no longer part
of family dinner, the hierarchical structure still exists to divvy up
the meal. “An alpha male and an alpha female head up the packs and act like a
mom and dad, while older siblings also look after the young,” said Spencer.
As such, Grace R could see herself in the alpha mom role. “I would
be strict and nice because some puppies need love and some need discipline –
just like kids,” said the 8 year old.
Victoria M wasn’t sure about all that, but she knew what she would
do if she was a wolf. “I’d howl at the moon,” said the first grader.
No harm in that – a lesson the rest of us need to learn when it comes to wolves.
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