Wild Things

My original "Friends of Animals" poster from the 70s.

A few years back, I went on a guided trip to Yellowstone called "Wolves, Bears, and Wild Things". Our intention as a group was to spot animals in the wild, but I didn't have quite the same touristy type of attitude. I don't see wildlife existing purely for my photographic pleasure, even though one of my greatest influences is nature. Surprisingly, I don't treat the world as if it exists to show itself for me only, and so I knew that our summer trip would not yield any wolf sightings because wolves do not hunt during the high heat of a summer's day, and only an idiot who knows nothing about animal behavior would expect that.

But I did see many beautiful things, and I came away with the lasting (and true) impression that the entire area can blow up at any time, because the park itself is one hugely active volcanic site: http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2010/07/yellowstone-national-park.html. As such, it really isn't fit for humans to live there, but there are many animals that exist free from the confinement of zoo life and our exclusive use. Bison roam freely like the moose do, and bears stick mostly to hills except during the park's busiest times, when people leave their trash everywhere. Oh, it doesn't matter that there are signs and trash can covers throughout the park: one bad person can temporarily collapse an entire ecosystem. 

Luckily for me, I'm a former Scout and the best hiker in my clan. I always pack in only what I can carry out myself, and that's something you can take to the bank. You'd certainly want me in the back country with you on any given day, because I can visually memorize any trail, especially the ones around Bear Mountain I grew up hiking, like the times when Dad was supposed to be carrying the maps, but forgot to do so. Trust me when I saw that me and my bros are happy he has the "Midas Touch" with money, which is much more of a sure thing.

The New York area has recently seen a great resurgence in the return of its' native wildlife, a place that includes rural settings, suburban green-ways, and urban jungles alike. It was noted with much amusement this spring, to the delight of every newscaster looking for a family-friendly story during the dinner hour. Who doesn't like bear cubs? Not me! But in every story lies a serious message; as soon as our animals return is as quickly they can disappear, if we don't make them welcome. That means you, happy camper! Garbage cans must have secure lids so that raccoons and little bears don't get into them, because not only is our food very bad for them to eat, little ones cannot climb out, and they will die in there without our help: http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/89917.html.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/2015/05/20/bear-sightings-new-york-westchester-rockaway-yonkers-mountainkeeper/27682767/

Same thing goes for feral animals that have escaped from human homes. Cats must be caught, taken to rescue services and fixed against breeding, because domesticated animals do not breed well without our intervention. This past weekend, I caught up with our local Animal Control officer (Hi, Rich!), a great guy who voluntarily works part time for the county when he isn't working for us at Con Ed. We have laws on the books about dogs that get loose but not cats, which has led to their rampant, unchecked inbreeding. It's the cause of many unsuccessful litters that bear dead kittens. I found one on the lawn last year, and it totally freaked me out. R.I.P. beautiful orange and white kitty :( I named the spot "Kitty Korner" in memory of the kitten, and I place my recycle bins there every week in his (or her) honor.

I remember seeing a small calico kitten with her dark grey mate roaming around the neighborhood last year, too. They weren't fully grown last year when they bred for the first time, and this spring they are still breeding badly. One morning last week, I walked out onto the porch to find my neighbor holding a small dark grey kitten with one eye sealed completely shut, or perhaps she was born blind. The Calico mom I saw last year crept out from the bushes, when the kitten was put on the grass for her to grab, but she does not birth healthy litters. Cats are tame because we made them that way, and so it is our responsibility to care for them. Now that I know this pair breeds under a certain big old yellow house in the Hudson Valley, I'm totally on it, and you should be, too. 

We must take care of our animals. It's up to you to keep this biosphere healthy and functioning, because this is G-d's inheritance to us, as the gift of life for all time. You are actively living in this "Garden of Eden". Treat the life here with love and care.  

For New York City residents:

http://www.nycferalcat.org/

http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/environmental/animals-tnr.shtml

http://feralcatfocus.org/

http://www.nycacc.org/CommFeralCats.htm, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/nyregion/a-no-kill-approach-to-feral-cat-control.html?_r=0


For Rockland County residents:

http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=712&gclid=COa37MLw5MUCFcITHwodDB8Ahg

http://www.everycatcounts.info/?gclid=COmM7dfw5MUCFdgPgQodnh8AjA 

http://www.hvhumane.org/pets-for-adoption/ 

http://www.hitor.org/ 

http://valleycottageanimalhospital.com/links-2/animal-shelters/ 

http://www.guardianangelcatrescue.com/feral_cats.php 

http://hudsonvalleynewsnetwork.com/2015/01/30/free-spayneuter-feral-cats-february-dcspca/ 

The Story of Lobo and Blanca

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_of_the_Wolves

Wolves are my favorite animals. It isn't surprising, given my preference for snow dogs, which wolves resemble in some ways. One of my favorite reads as a pre-teen was Julie of the Wolves, the story of an abused Native girl who runs away to join a pack. I made a study of my Samoyed as a girl growing up, and I loved her habits. When I began to learn in earnest about wolves, my admiration for their qualities grew. They are one of the most intelligent, sophisticated, and feeling animals on our beautiful gem of a planet, alongside whales, dolphins, and elephants. They have a complex and highly developed society, with a refined, disciplined, almost militaristic hierarchy. They form strong emotional attachments and unique bonds. Combined with their extraordinary natural beauty, you can clearly see why I was hooked.  

Lakota Wolf, © 2010 Marie Doucette 
 http://www.lakotawolf.com

As an adult, my fascination with wolves remains unabated. I went on a small outing to a wolf preserve in New Jersey. We also took a bigger family trip to Yellowstone, on a tour called Wolves, Bears, and Wild Things. We saw many beautiful animals and incredible landscapes, but no wolves. I was not disappointed at all, because I expected such behavior. They are not summer creatures, and the heat of the day is no time for movement, because wolves travel at night. I know some day I will observe a pack in the wild, at a spot that I hiked to deep in the wilderness, glistening with new snow.*

Lobo

Blanca

You can imagine my rapt attention when I discovered the documentary called The Wolf That Changed America. I do not want to write too much about it, so moving is this true tale. It's an epic adventure, with the creation of an environmental activist, and the greatest love story of all time. See it for yourself, and prepare for an emotional experience you will never forget. Be sure to have tissues handy. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-wolf-that-changed-america/introduction/4260/

*http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html
  http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2010/04/lakota-wolf-preservecolumbia-nj.html

The American Bison of Lamar Valley

One of the more interesting facts we learned during our large family vacation (from resident wilderness expert and tour guide extraordinaire, Mike) was the mistake behind the word "buffalo", as it is so often used. Buffalo are the animals from Asia and Africa, while "bison" refers to the American species. It is still allowable in common usage, given the prevalence of the term buffalo in American folklore, like historic songs ("...where the buffalo roam..." ) and mythic stories about the Old West.

It's an overwhelming and emotionally powerful experience to see them in their natural environment; how completely they fit into this big sky landscape! Given the abundance of food for them in their valley home, bison have exploded in population recently, giving us a sense of the originally massive herds that covered the land back then. Settlers once thought the bison of "The American West" were inexhaustible.

But dwindle from over-hunting they did, until finally (in order to re-populate Yellowstone), biologists replenished the wild herd we now see from private stock held in ranches. Those animals were crossbred with the few wild bison left, in order to create the large herds of Yellowstone roaming free that we see today.

It is a breathtaking wildlife preserve, as our very own "American Serengeti": a natural paradise for us here on Earth.

Yellowstone National Park

Geothermal features permeate the park by the thousands, to include: boiling springs, hot springs, both boiling streams and hot streams, mud pots, mud holes, geysers, thermals, cones—every facet of an active live volcano you can think of (besides the more well-known image of exploding lava), is in Yellowstone National Park.

You can easily see the instability of the earth's surface from a just casual walk around the park's most visited areas, especially at its delicate edges, because the landscape there changes and shifts all the time. New hot spots open, become dormant, or shrink and then widen very quickly, as a perfect example of how fast a landscape can alter. A wild and savage beauty, this is "The Great American West" at its finest. You have to see it.