Family Values (creative non-fiction)
It’s no secret that the gray wolf has been a major political issue for years; more so since their reintroduction to Yellowstone Park in 1995. Environmentalists insist that the Gray Wolf is an integral part to the eco system. Whereas, farmers and hunters say they are too much of a threat to the domestic animal and ungulate populations. It has been the same argument for years without either side giving in to the other. I’ve come to look at the gray wolf from a different perspective. ..not one from the natural world in the sense of the predator/prey relationship, but through one of a fellow mammal.
It all started with a crisp morning in Yellowstone National Park in the spring of 2013. As the sun began to seep down into the Lamar Valley on the morning of June 3, a few lucky onlookers found themselves captivated by two slender legged giants enjoying their breakfast. One black colored and one sandy colored wolf. The pair of wolves were two of the Lamar Canyon pack. I found myself among those happy and privileged onlookers. Tourists cramped the roadside and scaled the hill by the Lamar river just for the chance to see these controversial legends. I watched the two wolves with baited breath through my vintage Jason Empire binoculars. The wind was frigid and my fingers were beginning to lose feeling. I didn’t care. This was possible one of the most amazing moments of my life. As I stared through the binoculars, I had a handful of thoughts creep into my mind…. My mother and her love for wolves, and how jealous she would be when I told her this story, and how I desperately wished she was there to share this moment with me. Watching the wolves also made me think of the story Dan Hartman had told my class when we visited his studio.
Dan Hartman, a resident wildlife photographer of Silverpine, Montana spoke of 06, the Alpha of the Lamar Canyon Pack. 06 was one of the most well known alpha females of the Yellowstone wolves. She was smart, powerful, a good mother, and a good leader. In December 2012 she lost her life. She and her pack had been outside the parks protective border and a Wyoming hunter claimed her for his prize. Her death lead to the dissolving of her pack. Her mate went off in search of another female, the young ones were left to fend for themselves…a family broken up and dispersed by one greedy, selfish, and uneducated trophy hunter.
After hearing Dan Hartman’s story about 06 and watching the Lamar Canyon duo, I set off in search of other powerful females in the animal kingdom. As it turns out, there are many. So, I turned my research instead to finding a powerful male wildlife figure in a family setting. This was a much harder search. There are plenty of fish (male sea horse, catfish, etc.), birds (Emperor Penguin, Rhea, etc. ), and even insects (giant water bug, etc.) The lists went on and on for most species, but not for mammals. It was challenging to find a mammal father figure who would play an integral role in the care, raising, and protection of his kin.
Some would argue that it is hardwired into the DNA of every creature to pass on the genes and secure the next generation. For a male, it's typical to procreate with as many females as possible. For females, it’s to find the best specimen of male to ensure strong offspring. Is it true? Most definitely. So what does this have to do with the wolves? Everything, because they have something I didn't. A father.
My parents divorced when I was 5 years old. They had been separated some time before they made their divorce final. With the separation from his marriage he became totally uninterested in his children. Our family dynamic revolved around our strong-willed amazing mother. My father disappeared from the picture as best he could. Minus child support checks and our one week a summer custody agreement. My father never taught his children anything, and he knew nothing about us. Our neighbor taught my brother and I how to ride our bikes. Our mother's boss would buy us shoes when the child support check did not show up on time. To this day he still cannot get our birthdays right.
Wolf families, like our own, start with a set of parents. These are the alpha's in the group. The alpha male and the alpha female form the breeding pair in the group. In most packs, they are the only breeding pair. Wolves are monogamous unless a partner is killed. Something we as humans try to emulate this behavior with our own marriages. This is “good fact number one” about father wolf. He doesn't cheat on his Mrs. This is something I could not say about my own father and his marriage to my mother.
Once the female wolf is pregnant and has gone through her gestation period, she finds or creates a den where she can whelp the pups. While mother is busy feeding her new born babies, it becomes dads’ responsibility to bring food home for the whole family, and in conjunction, he protects the den from any intruders. As the pups grow, father wolf plays an important part in their education and maturing. He will play with them and help teach them to hunt, while disciplining them when they misbehave. He is a well rounded parent, especially for the animal kingdom. As the pack grows, so do the social and family dynamics. The big sister can be trusted to help Mom take care of the new pups. Big brother helps Dad bring home food for the new young. When not whelping and raising young, the pack works as a well oiled machine. Generally, the pups of multiple litters (one litter per year) will help mom and dad hunt and kill bigger/more prey so that the whole pack can all thrive. There is no lack of family time or devotion in these packs. Wolf families are an uncelebrated should-be icon. An extreme rarity among mammals; and this rarity, if emulated by multitudes of others, especially homo sapiens, would make the world of mammals a much better, happier, and peaceful place.
My mother once offered me a piece of advice as I got older and began to become interested in the opposite sex. "Don't look for a man who you can spend your life with… look for a man who will be a good father." Her words have stuck with me throughout the years. I took her words with me moving forward in life. I did not want my future children to experience the lack of paternal love and support that I had to endure. I don't blame my father. I don't think he did anything to be purposefully hurtful. I just think he is a selfish soul who was never taught to be a good parent nor wanted to be. A very typical male mammal.
I often look back on my extraordinary experience of watching the wolves of Lamar Canyon and hope that they can continue to survive. For those of you out there that could care less about the ecological and political situations that the wolves face, I encourage you to look at them through new eyes. Realize that they represent everything we want for ourselves, our children, and future generations. We want them to have a strong family dynamic with parents who will protect them, provide for them, and love them. Parents who will teach them. Parent's that won't abandon them. If we are born again unto this world via reincarnation, I'd like to be a wolf because then I would finally have a father who cared.