"Frozen" - Disney's Portrayal of Wolves

     Disney recently made a new animated musical movie called "Frozen."

     This movie is wildly popular among all ages (#1 in the country, in fact); probably more than 75% of my friends and classmates have seen it and they all are crazy about it. They've all been trying to convince me to go see it. In passing, one of my friends mentioned that there are wolves in the movie. I looked it up on the internet and this is what I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF7AfwMzrpc
     The vicious wolves, of course, are trying to eat the heroes. My friends say it's no big deal, that people don't even remember the wolf scene; but I think it's solidly reinforcing the Little Red Riding Hood mentality that young (and old) people have of wolves. What do you think is the impression of wolves that people are left with after seeing this? If you didn't know, what would you think about wolves? 

     Wolves do not attack and eat people. The fear of wolves is drilled into our heads starting with fairy tales in our infancy. We don't think to question them, and the idea that wolves are killers is reinforced throughout our lives, from phrases like "thrown to the wolves" to short scenes in movies like Frozen to whole movies like The Grey. Only people who take the time to actually research wolves will know that they are any different than what the media shows them to be. Society will only want to protect something they love, and they won't love something they fear - and they fear wolves. How can anyone be blamed for not knowing that wolves don't kill people? That's all they've been told, and we see wolves demonized at every turn. Why are wolves always the villain? I suppose it's just part of our culture - a part we need to work to change.

Photo of Jesse at Wolf Haven International.

Killer Wolves?

       This is something I hear, in some form, somewhat frequently (this exact comment was left on the National Wolfwatcher Coalition Facebook page): "I suggest killing every wolf outside of a zoo or very remote areas. If you are offended, please have a loved one take a walk in the woods of Idaho unarmed." 
I have, in fact, "walked in the woods of Idaho (as well as Wyoming, Montana, and Washington wolf country) unarmed," and I have yet to be threatened, much less attacked, by wild wolves. I have spent time with no protection but a backpack or a tent, tracking, hearing and seeing wolves, and have never once felt in danger. But don't take my word for it: Americans take between 16 and 35 million trips to wilderness each year; only 2 people have been killed by healthy wolves in North America in the last 100 years (neither of which were in the lower 48 states). By comparison, cattle kill more than 20 people every year; that's about 1000 times more than wolves. Wolves generally avoid humans.

       All wild animals are dangerous, but wolves aren't any more dangerous than other wildlife. 

Photo of wolf tracks in Washington State. 

Wolf Watching - Yellowstone National Park December 2013

In the last few days of 2013, I visited Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA. We saw four packs of wolves: the Eightmile (18 wolves), Junction Butte (9 wolves), and Lamar Canyon (2 wolves) packs, and 755M's group (2 wolves). Winter is a bountiful time for wolves. They are built for snow and cold weather. Their prey, elk, are weaker because it's hard to find vegetation under the snow. They also have a lot of trouble running through deep snow - something wolves are great at. Wolves are fat and happy these months. It is much harder during warm months. We witnessed a kill site from the two Lamar Canyon wolves. They brought down a bull elk overnight, and you could observe the battle between the predators and the prey in the snow. Although they lose more than 80% of the time, the predators won this battle, and the carcass fed the wolves as well as magpies, ravens, golden eagles, and bald eagles when we were there; it will surely feed more species like coyotes and foxes (and grizzly and black bears if they weren't hibernating). As it decomposes, it will add nutrients to the soil that will feed plant species. It was amazing to witness the cycle of life firsthand.


Junction Butte Pack.


Howling member of the Junction Butte Pack




Big Gray and Black Female, alphas of the Lamar Canyon Pack.
Big Gray and Black Female, alphas of the Lamar Canyon Pack.