| a personal wolf story |
| The ancient Greeks said that looking into a wolf's eyes could make a person speechless. A Native American belief is that a wolf could look into a person's soul. I believe it. Not only can they see into your soul, they can open it up so that you can have a greater appreciation for earth and all other life. In 1982 I went to see the wolf pack at the Bronx Zoo. They were high up on the cliff inside their enclosure. At the bottom of the cliff was a 20-foot chain-link fence. Even with my telephoto lens, I could not get a decent picture. The wolves were all lying in the shade in the tall grass. Then this kid came from behind me and said, "I'll get them to look up," and lobbed a softball-sized rock over the fence. Much to my relief it came nowhere near the wolves. It couldn't. The fence and the cliff were much too high, but it did make a loud click as it hit the side of the cliff. The wolf who must have been the alpha got up and looked straight into my lens. Through 210mm of magnification, I saw his eyes light up. Then he hit me with a blast of something I didn't have words to describe. It was like that wolf was holding on to all the anger and sorrow and loss that his kind have felt for generations from the tortures and killings and seeing their beautiful hunting grounds churned over and spoiled forever to provide for the spread of human population. It took me a while to get my feet back on the ground, but that began my education. In the meantime, I had learned many things from the wise canine I had adopted from the private shelter. Officially, he was a "German shepherd mix", but I found out from his vet that he was most probably a wolfdog or a coydog. After 13 years, he passed on. I decided to lessen my grief by taking a trip to Wolfhaven in Ipswitch, Massachucetts. At the end of the lecture, I stood up to ask a question. The wolf who had been identified as a beta female looked at me. Her eyes beamed with the most pure absolute love imaginable, not that corny, mushy stuff, but a light that was white and all the rainbow colors combined. I've had experiences with wolves, dogs and other animals, but none that intense, although each one continued my education and enlightenment, not in words--because words can only diminish the experience--but in feelings that words cannot express--at lease, not very well. |
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