Tonight's a full moon, so it seems fitting to delve further into wolf country. By now, we know the myths that surround them—a wild beast morphing under moonlight. So saturated has it become in pop culture that no self-respecting vampire movie or t.v. show can call itself such without an appearance by the hairy counterpoint. While the vampire is ethereal, cold-blooded and slender, the werewolf is heat, pain, and sweat: earthy, alive, and hungry. They are like mankind at its worst, or perhaps our fantastical best, without suffering the moral implications of a blood feast, like so many hand-wringing vegans. A wolf hunts and eats, without any moral ambiguity, and why should there be? It's what predators are born to do.Given the current climate, many a pseudo-scholar has entered into this fevered hothouse of best-selling books and movies. My favorite is a wacky British guy who has styled himself a real-life Wolfman, keeping a separate set of stinky scented clothes, so that he can enter pack territory without incident. Without the hammy acting, it's actually a fairly good representation of their society. I love this clip when he gives a pup howling lessons.
How cute is that wolf puppy? "Omigarsh" cute. Behind the kook factor, Shaun Ellis does ingratiate himself into wolf life, sort of like a grown up version of Julie of the Wolves. He reminds me of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell, who took too many risks after repeated warnings, ultimately killing himself and his girlfriend in Alaska. There's an incredible Werner Herzog documentary about this disturbed yet well-intentioned man called Grizzly Man. Because he obsessively filmed and taped, there's a chilling scene when his ex-lover hears his death throes through headphones, which were found at the campsite in a recorder. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Treadwell.
After all, with nature one must be mature enough to accept that there are real differences between domesticated animals and those of the wild. I respect animals in wildlife by giving them their space, and I feel that this is most fitting. They have their nature, and we have ours. This distance makes me appreciate them all the more. Occasionally, I have seen this gap broached, and I find it to be most distasteful. During art school, a couple of self-righteous hippie types mated their female wolf-dog hybrid with a male wolf, which they treated as pets. When the female gave birth to a litter, she created a den in their kitchen and would not let them enter, forcing the grad students to take their meals elsewhere. "We haven't eaten in the kitchen in about a month!" If I was supposed to be impressed, it was a failure, because I thought to myself "Good. Arrogant idiots."
As we sat in their chilly apartment, I carefully watched the male pacing around the small living room, eyeing me. Let me assure you readers, a wolf is not anything like a dog up close and personal. When I finally couldn't wait any longer to use the bathroom, the wolf startled a bit when I stood up, scaring me. The hippe dude scolded me (?!) for getting up too quickly. Yeah right, a$*hole, I'm the problem here. He told me he kept the wolf under his control by being the "Alpha" male and playing mind games with it. Watching that guy walk a wolf through a city on a piece of a rope was one of the most ridiculous, cruel, and hateful things I have seen in my life. I sincerely hope the mated animal pair pulled a "Siegfried and Roy"* on their asses. For tonight's full moon, I'll howl from indoors, looking forward to seeing wolves in the wild from a comfortable distance, with a certified guide.
Stay safe in our urban jungle.
