From: vkunch@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Virginia P Kunch)
Newsgroups: alt.wolves
Subject: Re: Wolf preservation in NE mass.
Date: 28 Sep 1992 16:11:40 GMT
Organization: Computing Services Division, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.7.4

I cannot speak about the Wolf Preservation group in NE Mass., since
I've not been there, but I am a staff member of a similar type of
facility, so here are my views on the whole issue of wolves in 
captivity.

The facility I work at is called Wolf Park, and it's located in
rural Indiana.  We are celebrating our 20th year this year....
In a nutshell, the main objective of the Wolf Park staff is to
have the wolves act as ambassadors of their species; that is to

say, to have them represent wild wolves, which, thanks to us
humans, are rarely seen.  WP attempts to accomplish this on several
levels:

1) Education -- WP is open to the public -- it is non-profit, with
all of the proceeds going toward animal care -- and thereby provides 
the public with an opportunity to see wolves up close while hearing
(being "brain-washed" with??) factual information about wolves.  I,
personally, feel this is a good idea.  I know for a fact that many
people who have visited our Park have been inspired to support wild
wolf reintroduction and recovery efforts in Yellowstone & elsewhere,
or to pursue environmental research that subsequently helps the 
animals.  We have also discouraged many people from obtaining wolves
as pets -- particularly people who were absolutely not prepared to
care for such an animal (this topic has been re-re-hashed, so 'nuff
said about that!).  Furthermore, our visitors are not permitted to
walk around not accompanied by a docent/staff member; therefore, their
questions are answered and their offhand comments, usually based on
mythical & erroneous information, can be "corrected." -- We also
do slide shows for school groups, etc.

2) Research -- WP conducts behavioral and biological research (non-
invasive) on captive wolves.  Again, thanks to mankind, wild wolves
are very difficult to observe.  Consequently, whole behavior patterns
are typically only observed in snippets.  By having constant access
to viewing the animals, and knowing their genealogy, we have made some
very interesting observations of captive animals, which has been 
supported by wild wolf research.  In this way, too, I think we help
the wolf.

It has never been WP's intention to release any of its animals into the
wild, nor have we tried to breed a domestic stock.  We do not "breed" certain
animals with each other to get the best "stock"; we let the pack structure
dictate who breeds with whom.

Now comes the tough question:  But are they happy?  Well, I for one think
it's impossible to be 100% certain of another species' feelings.  I know
a lot of people, like Brent, who feel that zoos are a terrible idea and
they encourage superior attitudes of humans over animalss.  He may be
right.  But I also know they inspire people to learn more about things
they've never seen before.  Many zoos I've visited have moved to include
environmentally aimed exhibits, to make people aware of the destruction
of rainforests, and the planet as a whole.  Now, I agree, some people 
don't see this -- but some people DO...  I know of several examples where
I talked to people about full-blooded wolves as pets, & they just didn't
get it -- go figure.

But back to the wolves (this is gonna get a bit philosophical -- sorry).
I think the best we can do in terms of gauging another animal's feelings
is to closely monitor its behavior and physiology (stress manifests itself
physically, as well).  Of course, some things will jump right out at you,
like constant pacing or other barrier-frustration behaviors, as signs of
unhappiness, but a persistent skin condition can mean the same thing, I
think.  We monitor our wolves for such signs, and while they do crop up
from time to time (which causes us to hurriedly remedy the situation by
various means), they are extremely rare.  I do believer that our wolves
are, by & large, happy, or at least content.  While they do not have
the 1000 square miles that Alaskan wolves may call their range area, neither
do they have to hunt for food & risk starvation (we feed them road-kill
deer and other natural food items).  Let's face it, it IS a jungle out
there, folks!  It sort of reminds me of people complaining that zoo
lions just sleep all day ...  well, wild lions sleep as much as 20 hours
a day, as well, so that aspect of their captive behavior is fairly
natural.  Now if you want to get into the motivation for their sleeping,
whether it's boredom or exhaustion, well...  I could go on & on -- in
fact, it looks like I have!  But, like Brent, I, too, feel strongly
about some things.

My grandfather worked in a steel mill for 47 years -- he walked 5 miles
to and from work everyday of his life.  That was his "natural behavior
pattern" -- but that doesn't mean he LIKED it.  His behavior was
motivated by his need to survive.  So, too, do I think is the case with
wolves.  Wolves typically claim a rendezvous area and then range out
from that to hunt, returning to the rendezvous and kind of sticking
around that area.  I would never claim that wolves don't enjoy the
diversity of their environment in their travels, (hell, even my dog
enjoys that much -- so do I), but maybe a large human-instituted
"rendezvous" is satisfactory for them???  There are no snakes or bears
or competing packs (or humans!) to risk their lives against...  And,
really, they do seem happy.  I don't claim it's perfect.  It's not, 
and sometimes I question it.  But this isn't a perfect world and there
are a lot of uneducated people out there.  In a visually oriented world
such as ours, asking someone to read a book or magazing article just
isn't going to cut it.  And Wild Kingdom is good for some, but not for
others...

I don't know.  These are just my thoughts...  I LOVE wolves, but I recognize
an imperfect world when I see one.  I wish it were different (don't we all?),
but until that time, the poor downtrodden animals are dragged along into
our dilemma.  It is, after all, their dilemma too.  The best we can do
now is hope to fix it.  And I'm sure everyone has an idea how that is 
best accomplished.

-ginny kunhc
(geez, can't even spell my own NAME right!)
vkunch@csd4.csd.uwm.edu


Newsgroups: alt.wolves