One thing EVERYONE know about wolves is that they are vicious killers!
While humans have pretty much exterminated the wolf, there might be just one documented case of a wolf ever killing a human in the wild. Therefore wolves are vicious killers.
I’ve had dogs (and more recently 2 wolves) for over 45 years. Dogs are killers! Dogs have been bred to be “varmint-hunters”, and to kill for fun! I’ve seen one of my dogs, Buddy, pick up a chipmunk, shake it do death, toss it aside, and then go do the same to another, and another, just for fun. Dogs will chase and kill anything they can in the forest; terriers especially like killing snakes (Diane’s little terrier killed two copper heads on its first visit to my place; Nashoba is more like, “Live and let live”).
Now, both my wolves have never killed an animal in the wild. They will walk right past a racoon or groundhog, and these animals are not at all afraid and just keep going about their business. Maybe someday I’ll tell the story of a coyote chasing one of my dogs, who ran back to where Nashoba and I were standing … ).
Somehow wolves know how to talk to all the other animals in the forest. I have seen my present (now old geriatric) wolf, Nashoba, do the following:
Run under the fence and play with horses;
Walk up and sniff and lick a baby rabbit (making a new friend);
Walk up to a doe in the forest, with two of her young, and stand right in front of of that deer and have a lengthy conversation. (My guess — Nashoba: “Hey, want to do one of the wild-ass runs through forest with me chasing you, and you trying to get away?” Deer: “No. Can’t you see I’m here with my kids?” Nashoba: “Come on, not even a short chase?” Deer: “No is NO!”. And Nashoba comes back with his tail between his legs and his ears down, having been told-off by a deer.
Recently, Nashoba had had his front paws in the lake and rubbed noses with a beaver for a good 15 minutes, till I got bored, and he followed me away. He still always looks for his beaver friend at the lake.
I’ll get up in the morning, and Nashoba will be sitting on the front stairs of the porch having a conversation with a rabbit not 10 feet in front of him. Of course, when I come out, the rabbit runs away, and Nashoba does not give chase.
Now, Nashoba was quite the athlete and certainly could catch and kill most of the animals he converses with, but he is quite-well fed (raw chicken leg for breakfast every morning, and gourmet dinners featuring raw ground beef, salmon or tuna). I’m sure if he weren’t fed, he wouldn’t starve to death — and that he would selectively pick the sick, old, or crippled animals for his dinner (easy prey). As the Indians said, “The wolf keep the Elk healthy”. I’ve seen a video of a wolf pack walking into the middle of a herd of grazing elk; the elk continue to nonchalantly graze. One in awhile a wolf might make a run after an elk, but if it is healthy and runs a short distance, the wolf immediately gives up the chase. Most animals are not at all afraid of the wolf (unless the wolf is starving!). Indians used to wear wolf-skins to crawl into a herd of bison.
George Catlin : "Buffalo Hunt with Wolf-Skin Mask" (1844)
I really think that most animals can talk to most of the other animals in the forest. Perhaps once we might have also been able to do that. Ever read the book, The Man Who Listens to Horses: The Story of a Real-Life Horse Whisperer ? He also learned to speak with deer.
While many of the nature programs on TV show, nonstop, the hunt and the kill, that’s not life in the wild for most of the animals most of the time … otherwise they’d all be dead.
And then there’s that barking thing. Wolfs don’t bark, but they do whine a lot, and their howls can be beautiful, but I don’t often get to hear them: he does it when I leave him. But wolves can learn to bark. Dog’s were bred to bark to serve as watchdogs, and some just won’t stop! I guess they are thinking that they are doing their “job” with their incessant barking that I find very obnoxious.
And wolves, besides not barking, are worthless for protection — when they sense danger, they will either stand behind you (or between your legs, and with Wolfie, at 120 pounds, it was a little hard for me to keep my feet on the ground), or run home. Many dogs, however, have been bred to be protective of humans.
But, remember, wolves are vicious dangerous animals! But really, they are quite shy, and keep away from humans. I’d love someday to see one in the wild (and maybe steal one of it’s pups! [with its permission of course]).