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I cant believe nobody has mentioned this. Maybe you guys havent seen it. Theres been a news special and at least on article. And the special is on tonight. National Geographic...9 PM Eastern time.

Its a man who has studied wolves for so long and then he ends up raising them and actually joining the pack and being alpha. Its a true story. He eats with them and has mastered the howls and even growls at them. I saw it the other day and was amazed. I wished I could do that!

An article/Interview:
http://ngcblog.nationalgeographic.com/n ... wol_1.html

And the site for the show:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/c ... ource=gc16

SOmebody watch it for me because I dont have cable...but im sure it will be on dvd.

Aw man I would love to see that but I'll be on a plane to ohio and end up missing it.

I'd actually forgotten this was on tonight, until I saw this thread reminder.

Just saw a preview for this yesterday afternoon. Was taking a nap on the sofa with the tv on, and the sound of wolf howls woke me up to it

Hope I remember to tune in tonight!

Stupid cheap cable that doesn't offer National Geographic.

too bad i dont have that channel

I couldn't find it last night at 9pm, on any of the National Geographic channels on Sky.

This sentence made me laugh:

"I have so far been able to teach a pack of captive wolves to behave more
naturally and instinctively."

Behaving instinctively is what animals do, you don't have to teach them. It is interesting to know that captive wolves learn how to hunt large prey succesfully within weeks after release, without having ever done so before. Instincts just are there, it is the stuff that is not learned, per definition.

I might be in the minority but the feeling I get from this little interview with the guy is that he is extremely pretentious. Teaching animals how to behave instinctively, indeed

Mind you, I do not doubt that the wolves, as habituated as they are to him, would definitely act more relaxed and natural around him than around other people, but I question his assumption that they would treat him as a real wolf. He certainly doesn't have the scent of a wolf, he doesn't have the same chemical secretions, he has no tail to raise above those of the wolves, no ears that he can move around properly... his claimed 'alpha' status among the pack is very doubtful, I think.

What he does definitely touches the imagination of the people. You can easily tell that from the tons of positive responses that article has genrated. The idea of being part of a pack of wolves is indeed something that appeals to imaginative people, and people who like wolves are usually imaginative. However, I think what he is doing is more similar to keeping a wolf as apet than anything else. He is trying to put the wolf into a mold of his liking. Notice how he made himself the 'alpha' of the pack... I get the feeling that this whole thing is a juvenile, well-intentioned but misguided practice, fueled by an inherent feel that humans are 'superior' to wolves (again, pointing back to his claim of teaching wolves how to behave instinctively). It is indeed 'cool', just like the idea of having a pet wolf is 'cool' (who among us didn't wish they could, at one point, just like we all probably wished we could be in a wolf pack, at one wistful moment or other). Cool, yes, smart, no. Good for the wolves? I doubt it. True, people have learned about wolves from pet wolves, but they also learned that this was not the best way to treat a wolf, neither the best way to learn from it. Jim Dutcher also lived with wolves, but at least he only claimed it was to make wolves habituated to him so that he wasn't influencing their behaviour to a high extend. In comparison, this guys attempt strikes me as a throwback, rather than a step forward in interacting with wolves.

I think we as people who like wolves have to come to a realization (different from the realizations that people who hate wolves have to come to). WE ARE NOT WOLVES . We are humans, we were molded from clay, descended from Adam and Eve, evolved from apes, pick your own belief, but we are not wolves. Whatever we do, we won't ever be wolves, however close we might be feeling to them spiritually or not. Keeping a pet wolf doesn't make the keepers closer to a wolf, and neither does becoming a self-claimed 'alpha' of a captive wolf pack. Admiring, respecting and wanting to learn fromand about wolves is great, but I think we should do it as observers.

Sorry, I am rambling, no offense intended to anyone who disagrees (or agrees, for that matter )

Heh heh. A human alpha? pft
I have an idea that the wolves see him as more of an ugly retarded little brother.
I mean, he couldn't possibly communicate successfully. Imagine if a blue fluffy bunny that spoke broken English barged into your workplace one day and started trying to order everyone around? You might be nice because the poor thing is so pathetic, but I doubt anyone would actually take it seriously.


This stupid self-important attitude is rampant in the therian community too. I can't count the times I've met someone new to the community and the first thing out of their mouth is "I think I'm an alhpa wolf!". Stupid idiots. The rank of alpha is earned through wisdom and mutual respect. You go around calling yourself an alpha and you're going to get laughed at. There are only two or three people I've met who are alpha-worthy, and neither of them even wants to accept that role.

Well I guess I must have been watching something completely different from you guys! I didnt think he was a pretentious human at all. I saw a therian who was living as close to his dream as he could make it. And he was only alpha because he couldn't eat the raw meat and he did raise the pups. And the wolves did seem to like and accept him, tail or not. They tried to keep him warm and they played with him. Granted, I dont agree for a second that he should try and live with a wild pack of wolves...we shouldnt let wolves think of humans as friendly. And what I think he meant by teaching them to be more instinctual was the language, which was amazing to watch! Plus, if a wolf grows up in captivity around humans, he loses his instincts. Wolves are taught to hunt by their pack. Sure, the abilities are natural but the techniques are learned.

Overall, I think its fasinating! But I dont recommend anyone to do it again. This is one of those one time learning experiences. And I do think it was more about his need to do it for himself rather then the need to learn anything...but you know what...I cant blame him. That would be an incredible thing to do. Something Im sure every therian wants. And just let it be noted that when he went back he did take the role or a lower ranking wolf.

As I said, I didn't watch the program, just read the interview, so all my comments are based on that and on my opinion about the idea in general.

But I disagree about lost insticts, because it has been tested. Wolves have been and are being raised all around US in captivity, with the ultimate aim of eventual release in the wild. When such packs are released, they manage to bring down large prey like elk or moose within a couple of weeks, without ever having hunted before. The largest problem with the release of captive wolves is not whether they will hunt, but what they will hunt. Animals that have a chance of release are only fed wild game so that they go for those animals, instead of others, like livestock. Human habituation also means that the animals are never going to be relesed.

Doruk Golcu wrote:As I said, I didn't watch the program, just read the interview, so all my comments are based on that and on my opinion about the idea in general.

But I disagree about lost insticts, because it has been tested. Wolves have been and are being raised all around US in captivity, with the ultimate aim of eventual release in the wild. When such packs are released, they manage to bring down large prey like elk or moose within a couple of weeks, without ever having hunted before. The largest problem with the release of captive wolves is not whether they will hunt, but what they will hunt. Animals that have a chance of release are only fed wild game so that they go for those animals, instead of others, like livestock. Human habituation also means that the animals are never going to be relesed.

Hmm. I always heard it the other way around. That most animals cant be released into the wild because they dont know how to hunt. But maybe there is a distinction between animals born and raised in captivity and animals caught, studied and then released. You wouldnt be able to find a link saying that by any chance would you? Probably not. Its just that Im curious.

Well, I actually heard that from someone involved in breeding captive mexican wolves for potential release. Some web search turns out this document too:

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexican ... F06-01.pdf

Doruk Golcu wrote:Well, I actually heard that from someone involved in breeding captive mexican wolves for potential release. Some web search turns out this document too:

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexican ... F06-01.pdf

Very interesting.

Doruk Golcu wrote:Well, I actually heard that from someone involved in breeding captive mexican wolves for potential release. Some web search turns out this document too:

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexican ... F06-01.pdf

i read it too....and it is really interesting....

I saw it!

Actually, he did astonishingly well. He took three abandoned cubs and raised them, teaching them survival skills and then releasing them to the wild. He didn't just nurse them along, either. He actually lived with them, eating raw meat and everything. (He did fudge a little on liver--taking it out, cooking it, and putting it back in the carcass, so he could eat it without running into some human digestive design problems.) He mastered wolf body language and protocols. Watching the thing was very humbling, and it reminded me of just what being a wolf really would involve, and how much of a shock it would be for wanna-bes who try to proclaim themselves therian without actually being the part. I'd have to say the man is quite possibly the closest living equivalent to a real werewolf available short of 23rd century genetic engineering. And, he employed wolf culture and language to solve hunting problems for farmers and ranchers--setting up sound systems that emitted simulated rival pack howls--as a way to put a stop to ranchers shooting at wolves.

If he were the usual guy holding a glass bottle to a pup, chatting on camera about simulating instinct, I'd say he were being pretentious. But, he's not. If anything, he makes most of us look like the pretentious ones. He's actually out there, sharing meals with them.

He released them to the wild? Legalities do not allow human-habituated wolves to be released to the wild, as far as I know. Reasonable, too, since such animals are more likely to prey on livestock and also get too close to hunters. Are you sure he was allowed to release them?

EDIT: Ah, I realize he is not in US, so the law might be different.

I heard about this but I missed the premiere night
It's re-running on several days, however. The next night it's on is this Sunday at 5:00, hopefully I'll be able to watch in either my living tv or my spare room tv (both those rooms have the National Geographic Channel).
It looks really interesting and the wolves are so cute

Since I missed it, I suppose I'll just wait for it come out on dvd.

John Wolf wrote:Since I missed it, I suppose I'll just wait for it come out on dvd.

It really is worth watching.

Doruk Golcu wrote:He released them to the wild? Legalities do not allow human-habituated wolves to be released to the wild, as far as I know. Reasonable, too, since such animals are more likely to prey on livestock and also get too close to hunters. Are you sure he was allowed to release them?

EDIT: Ah, I realize he is not in US, so the law might be different.

He hadn't yet, he was still looking for an appropriate place to do that

(I actually recorded this, but the recording is very large.)

wow, this guy is intense. I don't think i get the channel this airs on, but I think I would get the DVD if it were to become available.

~Snowy

Well it most certianly sounds like this will be very intriguing to watch if I can find a way to watch it.

Looking forward to the dvd when it comes out.

If you guys want to watch, they're in Youtube right now.

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuS3oRSqowQ
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmCBrgA8AHg
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaPXksxq4Mc
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w78eECa_oD4
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFht-aB9Kzo
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zubJYneTTC4