Feathers and Fangs
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By encouraging barn owls to take up residence in farms, the chances for survival of not only individual owls, but of the species itself, greatly increase. “We are teaching farmers how to reintroduce and encourage the predator population to thrive in their area,” Wendy adds. “The barn owl can hunt at night, and the tiny kestrel will hunt insects and mice during the day.” The result, she concludes, would be a richer biodiversity, a more regulated pest population, and more money in farmer’s pockets because they wouldn’t have to constantly buy and disperse chemicals.
The Halls have many projects aimed at rehabilitating wildlife and educating the public. Although they host many lectures and presentations at the refuge and schools around the state, their most famous program involves two wolves and their son Alex, who raised both wolves from pups. Although both were raised in captivity, the Halls warn against the assumption that they have become domesticated. “They’re pretty wild,
actually,” Alex explains, laying on the ground inside the enclosure. “They have very strong wolf tendencies.”
Cree, a wolf-dog hybrid, hold his ears back and comes up to Alex submissively. A common problem the Halls encounter is that many people think owning a wolf-dog hybrid would be entertaining and easy. “People get these hybrids and try keeping them in the house and its just not going to work,” Wendy explains. “A hybrid is more unpredictable and therefore more dangerous than a full wolf. You just don’t know which genes and which characteristics will go into the animal.” This Russian roulette is evident in past hybrids they’ve encountered. “Our first wolf hybrid was amazing withand you’d think he was just anotherdog,” Steve says, “but if he saw a cat or a rodent, he would kill it in a second and keep it as a play-thing.”
The Halls use the wolves to shatter other misconceptions typically held by the public. Unlike many fairy tales vilifying wolves as vicious beasts seeking an unlucky human as their next meal, the Halls contend that wolves are naturally family oriented and shy, even scared, of people. Zeebie, an attractive black Great Plains wolf from Minnesota, came to the refuge in 2009. Since wolves are naturally family, or pack, oriented, Cree and Alex became “older brother” figures to him. Close bonds between members of a pack, like those between the three, are very strong. However, wolves are not usually social with those outside their circle. “Packs are usually just a mom, dad,the alpha male and female, and their offspring” Alex explains. “They rarely take in stragglers that come by.” This mistrust of strangers is shown through their shy behavior when groups of visitors approach.
The Halls have many projects aimed at rehabilitating wildlife and educating the public. Although they host many lectures and presentations at the refuge and schools around the state, their most famous program involves two wolves and their son Alex, who raised both wolves from pups. Although both were raised in captivity, the Halls warn against the assumption that they have become domesticated. “They’re pretty wild,
actually,” Alex explains, laying on the ground inside the enclosure. “They have very strong wolf tendencies.”
Cree, a wolf-dog hybrid, hold his ears back and comes up to Alex submissively. A common problem the Halls encounter is that many people think owning a wolf-dog hybrid would be entertaining and easy. “People get these hybrids and try keeping them in the house and its just not going to work,” Wendy explains. “A hybrid is more unpredictable and therefore more dangerous than a full wolf. You just don’t know which genes and which characteristics will go into the animal.” This Russian roulette is evident in past hybrids they’ve encountered. “Our first wolf hybrid was amazing withand you’d think he was just anotherdog,” Steve says, “but if he saw a cat or a rodent, he would kill it in a second and keep it as a play-thing.”
The Halls use the wolves to shatter other misconceptions typically held by the public. Unlike many fairy tales vilifying wolves as vicious beasts seeking an unlucky human as their next meal, the Halls contend that wolves are naturally family oriented and shy, even scared, of people. Zeebie, an attractive black Great Plains wolf from Minnesota, came to the refuge in 2009. Since wolves are naturally family, or pack, oriented, Cree and Alex became “older brother” figures to him. Close bonds between members of a pack, like those between the three, are very strong. However, wolves are not usually social with those outside their circle. “Packs are usually just a mom, dad,the alpha male and female, and their offspring” Alex explains. “They rarely take in stragglers that come by.” This mistrust of strangers is shown through their shy behavior when groups of visitors approach.
“They actually love to play,” Alex says. “They love to take things and run away with them. If you have a hat or a scarf, they will grab it and run away with it. They’ll throw it up in the air and wait until you come to try and take it. Then they make you run around [for it] when you really don’t want to.” Visitors to the center have the option of going on a “Wolf Walk” where Alex takes out both Zeebie and Cree on a walk along the river. This close experience with the wolves allows visitors to see how wolves react to their surroundings and each other whether they be walking, marking a trail, or playing with each other or Alex.
Aside from common misconceptions, the Halls strive to educate the public on the inherent importance of wolves and other predators in the wild. “There are certain relationships in ecosystems that when you change those relationships or remove certain components of ecosystems that are important in these relationships, you can get very big changes,” Cristina Esenberg explains. Esenberg, a long-dedicated ecologist and wolf enthusiast, studies wolves and how they play a role in an areas ecosystem. “The wolf has been identified as a ‘keystone predator’, and that is an animal that is a carnivore that has a particular type of prey that is specializes in,” Esenberg explains, “Their presence in an ecosystem controls those species by killing them and through the mechanism of fear, and fear is a very good thing.”
Dubbed “the ecology of fear”, this can have a profound effect on prey animals, changing their behavior and,
therefore, the landscape. For example, when wolves were eliminated from
western regions of the United States, elk and deer populations exploded. Because
predators had been eliminated, they became relaxed, and would stay
in areas for long periods of time, eating vegetation (such as the aspen trees) to
the ground. After wolves were reintroduced, elk and deer became skittish
again, never staying anywhere long enough to eat the young aspens down.
This change has lead to a resurgence of aspen and other shrubs, creating a
stronger biodiversity and helping prevent erosion.
therefore, the landscape. For example, when wolves were eliminated from
western regions of the United States, elk and deer populations exploded. Because
predators had been eliminated, they became relaxed, and would stay
in areas for long periods of time, eating vegetation (such as the aspen trees) to
the ground. After wolves were reintroduced, elk and deer became skittish
again, never staying anywhere long enough to eat the young aspens down.
This change has lead to a resurgence of aspen and other shrubs, creating a
stronger biodiversity and helping prevent erosion.
This “concept of fear” goes beyond wolves and applies to the level of raptor species of birds. When birds that prey on rodents disappear from an agricultural area (whether it be from poisoning from chemicals or natural migration), the rodent population will explode and the mice will become more brazen. Once these predators return, numbers will decline to a more manageable level, and the mice will become more alert and wary.
Although they focus primarily on rehabilitation, the overall goal of the refuge is to inform the public on the importance of raptor birds and predator species in the ecosystem, and, in turn, to us. Wendy and Steve, along with Alex and all the volunteers at the center, continually strive to ensure the survival of natures balance and biodiversity. “You know, maybe humans can survive if a few species here and there disappear,” Wendy sighs, “but it will be a very boring place to live."