<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > kisses and settles the relationship with the wolf</h1>
What is it like to be kissed by a wolf?
In my impression, the wolf has always been the biggest "villain" image in childhood: murderous, cunning, greedy, open mouth with a basin of blood...
Being kissed by a wolf? I didn't even dare to think about it.
But Ellie H. Linger said: "I felt that the whole world was still, and Yin Bao (the head wolf) began to lick my face with his rough tongue. It was from this 'kiss' that I couldn't help but suffer from 'wolf addiction'. ”
It was this kiss that made her and the wolf indissoluble, which began her 25 years of experience of wolf watching in the wilderness.
Ellie M H. Latina is a German popular science writer and naturalist.
Before being kissed by a wolf, she was an excellent lawyer.
But facing those crimes, divorces and rental disputes every day makes her more and more disappointed in her life:
"In order to uphold fairness and justice, I used to put in a huge passion, frantically studying law and becoming a lawyer. But the first three years of my career left me desperate, not only in divorce lawsuits, traffic accidents, crimes, but also in the bureaucratic atmosphere that surrounded me. ”
She didn't want to waste her precious life anymore, and after much deliberation, she decided to end her career as a lawyer.
After that, she began to make plans, assess her financial situation, and look for a career that would have a good income and meet her dreams.
She seized an internship and applied for an internship at Wolf Park, Indiana, USA.
However, if you want to get up close and personal with the wolf, the first thing you need to pass the test of the wolf and get its approval.
Ellie carefully walked into the wolf lodge under the guidance of the keeper, and she struggled to stand firm while taking a deep breath.
The head wolf has appeared!
It sniffed with its nose and probed forward with both ears, and it spotted Ellie standing in front of it.
"It squatted down on its powerful hind legs, ready to pounce, and I was able to catch the next pounce with all my might. Yin Bao did not throw me down, its palm-sized claws landed on my shoulders, and its terrifying fangs were only a few centimeters closer to my face. ”
Then came the opening scene—Ellie was kissed by a wolf.
After being accepted by Yin Bao, Ellie began an apprenticeship in the Wolf Park, learning how to raise wolves and understand their habits.
After six months of training, she entered the Wilderness of Minnesota. Unexpectedly, here, she met the first wolf in her life.
It was New Year's Day, and the morning temperature was only minus 30 degrees.
She put on her snow boots and carefully followed the footsteps of the wolves into the forest.
Soon, she found a dead white-tailed deer, the body was full of bite marks, and there was still warmth.
She knelt beside the deer to observe carefully, and suddenly felt that she was being secretly stared at by something, and she slowed down, stood up, and turned around.
An East Canadian wolf stood a few meters away from her!
The little wolf fluttered its nose in an attempt to catch the scent of her body, and perhaps this was the first time the little wolf had seen a human, it just stood still, distinguishing between friend and foe.
Ellie's throat tightened, and she greeted the little wolf softly, "Hello, little wolf." ”
The little wolf shrank in fright and jumped backwards, and the half-raised tail swept towards the abdomen, clamped tightly, and it changed from curiosity to fear. Only to see its hind legs stand firm, a sharp turn, turn around and rush into the forest, disappeared.
Ellie stared obsessively at the forest and stood still for a long time.
In the months since, Ellie has begun learning about the habits of wild wolves from biologists and frequent wolves at the International Wolf Center, learning how to study, telemetry and monitor them.
In 1995, when the first East Canadian wolves moved to Yellowstone Park, she began to squat in the wilderness and accompany wild wolves.
Thus, there was the advent of this "Wolf's Wisdom".
In her opinion, by observing the way the wolf lives, it can be felt that the wolf is so great:
"Wolves have become a part of my life, and their complex social behaviors have influenced and changed me, because they have given me the opportunity to re-understand the meaning of morality, responsibility and love."
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > wild wolf watching, dancing with wolves for 25 years</h1>
Yellowstone National Park in the United States is where Ellie watches wolves. In her eyes, the Lamar Valley was an excellent area to observe wolves.
During the day, Ellie climbed a hill in the Lamar Valley and found a place where the sun could shine.
She spread the device aside, propped up a tripod, and fixed the high-powered telescope. Then put binoculars around your neck, a radio and a voice recorder in the pockets on either side of the jacket.
She waited quietly for the wolves to appear.
For 25 years, she has told us the story of wolves with delicate and sensitive observations and personal experience with wolves, showing the wisdom of wolves.
She saw that wolves would do their best to maintain their "home" and even give their lives for their families:
"I once saw a wolf being attacked by an enemy during a territorial battle, while its brother risked his life and ran past the enemy at a very close distance. The enemy was distracted, interrupting the attack on his brother, and finally both brothers were relieved. In another battle I saw, the wolf was not so lucky, choosing to 'sacrifice' himself for his family, jumping alone into the fighting wolves, and finally being killed by the group. ”
She saw that wolves would raise young wolves together:
"When the baby wolf is still in the mother wolf's belly, the wolf father or other children will bring food to the wolf mother. When the young wolf is born, everyone will spit out half-digested food for the baby wolf to eat. ”
They will also teach disobedient wolf cubs and make rules for them:
"When the young wolf is left behind because of greed, the first time the wolf pack will wait for it to catch up, but the matter is only three, when the young wolf realizes that he can't keep up with the team, he will scream in fear, but the wolf pack will go straight ahead and will not wait for it." After this lesson, this little wolf no longer dared to fall behind at will. ”
In doing so, future generations behave more "moderately": to be able to explore and know the boundaries of security; to unite and cooperate, but also to maintain themselves.
Treating the crippled and frail old wolves, the wolves also have great respect.
Ellie once tracked down the Silver Wolves and witnessed a young male wolf trying to challenge the elderly head wolf and try to replace it, but was repeatedly expelled.
Just after Ellie thought the male wolf would give up and leave, within a few days, she suddenly found that the young guy had become the head wolf, and the previous head wolf that had been replaced by it was also particularly obedient.
The young head wolf not only had great respect for the old wolf, but even licked the old wolf's wounds after he was injured.
Years of experience in wolf watching let Ellie know that behind this behavior, it is because of the old wolf:
"They have encountered opponents many times in their lives, watched their companions be killed, and of course they have killed other wolves themselves. They know how to avoid battles that have no chance of winning, so that they have a chance to survive. The mere presence of one old wolf in a pack means that the entire pack can benefit from its past experience. ”
The more you observe the wolf, the more you learn about the wolf, the deeper your feelings for the wolf.
The disappearance of the female wolf "Cinderella" left Ellie worried, and after the discovery of its body, the male wolf "No. 21" wailed for three full days. The mournful sound that resounded throughout the valley had always lingered in her ears, and every time she remembered it, it made her feel tearful.
The fact that another female wolf, "She", was booby-trapped by hunters outside the reserve made Ellie unable to let go for a long time.
The she-wolf "She", born in 2006, first appeared in lamar valley and immediately attracted Ellie's attention. In Ellie's years of observation, "She" is a presence that cannot be ignored.
It is Yellowstone's finest hunter, preferring to hunt alone and prefer to go head-to-head with prey. It is smart, brave, independent, and teaches generations of family members the skills to survive.
After a long time of peering into its life, from a simple understanding of the long-term love, Ellie has developed empathy for "She":
"I would imagine myself as it, a female head wolf that has always been independent and autonomous. Because of this, its death hit me even harder, and the despicable means of seducing and killing She also made me unable to let go. ”
For the death of "She", Ellie felt more angry than sad:
"How do we deal with the misfortunes that happen to ourselves and to the people and things we love? Although I have experienced the pain of losing my lover or pet before, I have never faced such a naked hatred... If someone takes pleasure in shooting innocent animals and hurts the feelings of others without hesitation, this is beyond the limits of my patience. I don't know what kind of people and things I will be forced into. ”
She suddenly felt frightened, afraid to return to Yellowstone, afraid to have an affair with a certain wolf, afraid of facing loss again. Her mind was full of questions, and she even began to question the meaning of life:
"For decades, I've been educating wolves to believe that humans are protecting them and their environment. Is everything I do futile? What I do has neither an impact nor changed anything, or is whatever I do ultimately useless? ”
The departure of "She" crushes Ellie, who does not know when the anger in her heart will subside.
She recalled the wolves she had observed at Yellowstone.
When misfortune strikes among wolves, they grieve, howl, and even choose martyrdom, but none of the wolves question the meaning of their lives.
"She was a brilliant female warrior when she was alive, and she never gave up lightly. If I were to replace it with me now, it would continue to hunt, live, and love. So, like it, I'm going to continue my observations and tell people the story of the wild wolf. Maybe one day, these things I'll do will stop humans from killing wolves. ”
Thinking about this, Ellie gradually found her inner peace.
After a year of adjustments, she returned to Yellowstone. Although she still feels sad, she feels that there is a "She" everywhere.
One evening, Ellie sat on a rock and looked through the valley with her binoculars. Suddenly, she sensed movement behind her diagonal back. Instead of taking action, she waited quietly. Then a gray-brown she-wolf slowly appeared in her field of vision.
"I remembered seeing this 'girl' – next to her mother. It was one day two years ago, and A few friends and I were standing on the hill, searching for wolves with telescopes. Suddenly, we felt a movement behind us, turned around cautiously, and saw She standing there. At this moment, standing in front of me was She's daughter. So, for the first time in so long, I truly felt peace and well-being returned to my heart. ”
Wolves grieve, and whenever their families are lost, they are manic and cry out to find; whenever a loved one dies, they will whine and cry out in sorrow. But just give them time, they will let go of their grief, get up, and start their lives again. They follow the rhythm of life, hunting, eating, reproducing, caring for their families, and trying to live in the moment.
And human beings seem to have lost this ability, always like to remember yesterday and think about tomorrow, but dare not face today.
Therefore, we should really learn from the wolf, accept and adapt to the fact that we cannot change, and cherish and enjoy every moment in life, because every day is a new day.
After 25 years of wolf watching in Yellowstone, Ellie's enthusiasm for wolves has only increased.
"I look forward to meeting the wolves all the time, whether it's the extremely cold winter of minus 40 degrees, or the hot summer days of flying flies; even if I have to put on special socks, put warm patches in my gloves, or apply thick sunscreen and mosquito repellent, I will wait for hours without wavering and patience... Even if I don't see the wolf for a while, I will wait. Because just the moment the wolves appeared, I already felt that it was so extraordinary to be able to feel the endless life and vitality of nature with them. ”
And when she learned that there were also wild wolves in her hometown of Germany, she once again embarked on a journey to find wolves. This time, she wanted to find the answer to "why do we need wolves?"
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > back to Germany and welcome the wolves</h1>
At the end of January 2017, Ellie and four friends traveled to the Vendland region of Germany to look for wolves.
Ellie knew that not everyone was as fortunate as she was to enter the life of a wolf, observe them, and learn about them. To this day, there are still many people who have a fear of wolves.
Especially in areas where animal husbandry is the mainstay, people fear and even hate wolves. The shepherds think they are not raising sheep, but wolves:
"Before I could fill out the form to claim the grant, the wolf was already eating my sheep with impunity."
A young shepherd said angrily, "It is better if the wolf is dead." ”
But in fact, wolves attack domestic livestock because humans provide convenient conditions for these domestic animals to become their food source.
Try to empathize, if you suddenly have a plate of steak in front of you, will you still go into the forest to hunt yourself?
Therefore, shepherds must understand the idea of wolves in order to protect their livestock. Wolf-proof grids and shepherd dogs are an indispensable combination of ranching.
We must always remember that we are dealing with species with extremely high intelligence and super adaptability, and that humans must learn to coexist with wolves, just as wolves adapt to our existence.
In Germany, wild wolves are more and more often present in people's lives, and as animals that like to live on human land, wild wolves can quietly become human neighbors.
Especially at the beginning of summer, people often encounter wolves. These "little youths" who do not know the height of the sky will embark on an adventure journey, and they are like human children, understanding the face of life through their own experience.
At this time, human beings also have to shoulder their own responsibilities.
Never feed!
Don't let the wild animals assume that we two-legged creatures are very friendly.
More than a hundred years ago, many large beasts of prey disappeared almost all over the world. With the awakening and efforts of human beings to protect the environment, they have only reappeared in recent years, which can be regarded as effective.
Today, as part of the wolf conservation effort, Ellie's goal is no longer to save endangered wolves, but to integrate them into her home.
"Where those people are at odds with wolves, we need to come up with diverse solutions to practical problems. We don't need to make everyone love wolves, but we just try to make people accept wild wolves as part of their living environment. ”
In her 25 years dancing with wolves in Yellowstone, Ellie has been immersed in observing and studying wolves.
In her shots and pens, each wolf has its own name and personality. In her eyes, wolves, like other animals, breathe and share a common destiny with humans.
More importantly, she teaches us to re-examine the world with a new eye—the wolf's perspective:
What if the elk is not caught while hunting? - It's okay, after a nap, try again.
Travel answers, find that your territory is occupied, and risk your life to take it back? - It's not worth it, so let's find a new territory!
The mountain road is slippery and slippery, do you want to continue? - Of course not, turn to the road, this will save energy.
There is no complaining, no thunder. When confronted with situations that cannot be changed, wolves will try to find another way, and there is no situation that they cannot adapt to.
Wolves are similar to humans in many ways, and are creatures with character, temperament, soul, thoughts, and emotions. They are not inferior to us humans, and wolves are far more like us than we think.
"Over the years, I have had the privilege of watching the life-and-death love of wild wolves in Yellowstone, and it is they who have taught me to value my family and show love; they have taught me to celebrate life, even if the object is fleeting; and they have taught me the meaning of being human. This is the wisdom of the wolf, love your family, take on your responsibilities, do not give up lightly, and will not stop the pace of the game. ”