THE PACK Message Boards

Southern Rockies of Canada

Why should a Werewolf need a sanctuary. The world should be an open place to roam and live. A sanctuary should merely be a place just to go and enjoy time with fellow werewolves, otherwise it would be more of a prison than a safehouse. If a werewolf wanted to bring a human (or otherkin friend) he would be allowed to. But no humans admitted without wolfen supervision.

Hmmmm

Things to consider in this modern age.

Now anyone with an internet connection can get a satellite picture of their own home with just a few clicks. See your own car in the driveway. And this is all for free.

Higher resolution available for a fee. And naturally to large corporations and governments.

So, there are privacy issues to consider.

Governments and other organizations are getting nosier than ever. Prying and probing everywhere they can to get .... information.

So, the presence of a large pack, anywhere on the planet, would perhaps be easy to detect, unless the pack itself kept certain things in mind.

Heavy forest helps to obscure aerial viewing. With this in mind, one needs to consider seasonal foliage. Forests where all or most of the forests lose their leaves seasonally, would offer little cover in the dormant season. So, perenniels, aka trees like conifers would be good in the colder climates. In some warmer climates, all the vegetation retains its leaves year round.

So, I would first look for places where there is plenty of reliable cover.

*******

Next, hunting and law enforcement.

Wolves, if they cannot get entirely away from the human overrun world, are actually safer in places where it is NOT open season. Problems in this regard exist in both Canada and Alaska. If I recall correctly, it has been legal in the past to hunt wolves from helicopters in Alaska. And I believe I have heard that certain folks want this back again and are getting traction in their wishes. While hunting is allowed in Canada, I don't know the details. In many cases, Wolves are hunted as pests or varmints. Also, if recall serves, Idaho, which had some Wolf reintroduction areas, is undergoing changes in order to be done with wolves at this time.

So, while one could probably not count for certain on perfect safety, one can by making careful decisions, enhance ones position.

Likely, it would be in the interests of the pack keeping the above in mind, to have exclusive control and legal ownership of large tracts of land which meet the above criteria.

But wait, there are more.

First, lets recognize that human beings themselves are also pack animals. And that when certain events or religion or other factors galvanize them, they turn into packs of remorseless killers. In fact, under certain conditiions, humans surrender their individuality and let their emotions and intellect be ruled by mob mentality. So it is a good idea to examine the surrounding societies and get some grip on how vulnerable they are to influence from such things as folk myths, ignoranct hysteria and more. I would be very nervous myself in especially poorly educated societies where individuals and mobs are easily manipulated by charismatic or clever individuals or organizations. Lets stay away from easily whipped up lynch mobs.

Likely some Werewolves would like to have the best of both worlds. Now in this modern age with satellite communications, many of the perks of modern society can be had almost anywhere on the face of the earth. But unless the Werewolf sanctuary/community is rather large in any given location, there will still be many conveniences best available only in sizable human communities.

So, those suggest a variety of specifications to meet.

Some have suggested that the WereWolf community could go public and be safe that way somewhere. This is one that is hard to judge. When all is quiet and human societies are not in turmoil, this may work. But what happens when such societies, as they seem to periodically do, implode ? Then social chaos reigns, and societies search for scapegoats, and then proceed to destroy them.

There is a place I'm using in a novel I'm working on. It's real-world name is Wolf Creek, Montana. I call it Wolf Bend, Montana. Originally settled by two packs of Were's in the 1880's, it' s currently about the only place where the Were's outnumber the Smooths. It's up against the Canadian Border, and has Indian Reservations all around it.
Just don't call the leading ranchers the Wolfe family, please.
(It really is perfect!)

I'd say it would have to be somewhere in a dense forest or something
or there could even be a place like they did in 'Wolf Lake' (tv show) that was an entire town with werewolves

RedEye wrote: Originally settled by two packs of Were's in the 1880's, it' s currently about the only place where the Were's outnumber the Smooths.

The Smooths? haha, thats good.

The problem with an actual wildlife preserve is that there's no guarantee it won't become something else after the next election. The ideal situation would be a preserve, but if the pack wanted to realistically have a permanent home, they would have to masquerade as a wolf park.

I agree that werewolves are mostly human, so a sanctuary would likely only be used by werewolves that prefer to live out their normal lives in full wolf form. That said, a wolf park might make for a good front for a werewolf pack. It would be an easy way for feral werewolves to stay in touch with their human packmates, it would excuse any wolflike behavior durring the day (about 1/3 people will howl while visiting a wolf park), and I seriously doubt all but the most juvenile of werewolf hunters would start their search at a wolf park (people looking for deep dark secrets usually don't expect them to be so blatantly obvious). The only problem is that, due to the limited ammount of space, werewolves could only use the haven to assume gestalt form late at night.

As for where, well. . . Ideally I think a pack would want their haven to at least be North of that Dr. Pepper / Mr. Pib line, but chances are if a pack founded their own wolf sanctuary, it would just wind up being in close proximity to where they already are.

vrikasatma wrote:... Goes against the "neither collar nor crown" axiom...still, it'd be kind of cool to see the King of Norge and/or Danmark with an honour guard of werewolves

Very Cool indeed; once the tumult was over at the discovery that Werewolves existed, Everybody, well just about every Head of State would want one as well.
That would really be an excellent way of merging Were's into Smooth society, they would be seen as protectors rather than as monsters...like the Papal Swiss guards.
Of course, doing this would do away with the need for sanctuaries...
but all in all, it's one good idea!

On the idea of a "Sanctuary"...If you are postulating a place where Were's could walk down the main street in their fur at any time of the day or night; you could probably do a deal with one of the Indian Nations...
which are separate Nations within the U.S.A., or buy an abandoned town, or just start moving into a dying community: Property taxes talk very loudly in the halls of Government.

If, however, you mean someplace where Were's could disappear, why not open a "Wolf Conservatory"...the best place to hide a duck is among other ducks (ask Figarou...)

RedEye wrote:On the idea of a "Sanctuary"...If you are postulating a place where Were's could walk down the main street in their fur at any time of the day or night; you could probably do a deal with one of the Indian Nations...
which are separate Nations within the U.S.A., or buy an abandoned town, or just start moving into a dying community: Property taxes talk very loudly in the halls of Government.

If, however, you mean someplace where Were's could disappear, why not open a "Wolf Conservatory"...the best place to hide a duck is among other ducks (ask Figarou...)

HMM that makes it sound like they'd hide out in a circus or freak show.

Lots of forest....yup....plenty of forest, near there home, original, natural, a 'fresh nature' smell type'o place.

How about this kinda forest?

mmmmmmmm

holy, lol

Human Wolf Eyes wrote:mmmmmmmm

holy, lol

Whats that mean?

*sigh*

large masses of open terrain and wilderness devoid of human interference.

holy= basically ethereal compared to a wolves eyes, y'know, the whole, "WOW! INFINITE SPACE TO RUN! PLENTY TO CHASE AND HUNT!" thing, so, yeah. you should get it now.

For a sanctuary it depends on the type of werewolf.
and mostly what causes them to change.

If its once a month, then at that time they need to get away from people or lock themselves up but otherwise live near other people.

If the transformation is done by will or simular factor i can see them just living in the same communities as humans, but may prefer to be away from people.

Larger more dangerous werewolf type creatures though while able to live amongst humans in a human form may prefer to be alone and live far away from humanity.

Really it all depends on the type of werewolf, what resources they have access to "money, land, ect..." and if they are one or many.

for the werewolves: being hunted, dangerous, group community goers, or reclusive; Gunnison county of colorado is mountainous and people are sparce. goodluck

Well if the Werewolf(ves) were going to settle in the Australian State of New South wales, there would be a prime place for them to live...

It's called the Blue Mountains

Alot of bushland and plenty of protected lands to inhabit, a few hours drive from Sydney (and if they dont want to go all the way there, they could always go to Penrith or even Springwood ) Small and friendly communities And even a yearly festival to celebrate the supernatural (Winter Magic Fest)

I think it'd be the perfect place for a Werewolf pack to settle down

Laters

Here in Colorado. No question about it. Mountains, streams plains...its a wilderness paradise

MattSullivan wrote:Here in Colorado. No question about it. Mountains, streams plains...its a wilderness paradise

You can say that again!!! I WANT to go there for vacation!!!

Maybe next year.

been to colorodo, thats why i suggested the paricular county. and do go, its great.

I would say somewhere up in Canada or Alberta cause I been to alot of places before in Alberta like in BC or something and there was some nice forests that seemed like nobody wouldnt want to enter cause the long stretch of tree's/or forests, mountains, lakes/rivers, and b-e-a-utiful scenery. But, I could be wrong too since I havent been to the States and seen all that jazz that some people mentioned. (where was that place in "Wrong Turn" where them people were gettin killed from them things, because that would be an okay werewolf sanctuary in my opinion)