Eye to eye with wolves
April 22, 2003
By Shane Benjamin
Herald Staff Writer
Durango High School students came face to face with wolves Monday, and in the process, they learned not all wolves are the bloodthirsty animals some people make them out to be.
Students also learned wild animals don’t make good pets.
Kent Weber, who operates Mission: Wolf, a wolf refuge 20 miles from
Westcliffe, talked to about 280 students about the evolution of the wolf, its behavior and
reintroduction programs in the United States.
“It took 10,000 years to domesticate wolves into dogs, and
people can’t just take a wolf puppy and expect it to act like a dog,” Weber said before
his presentation.
The students gathered in a circle in the school’s cafeteria
while four wolves roamed around the circle and greeted the students.
Rami, a 10-year-old female gray wolf, showed a particular interest in
students who claimed to have pets at home. The 62-pound animal with yellow eyes would put her nose
next to students’ faces before moving to the next subject of olfactory interest.
Weber also brought three yearlings that were more playful and
energetic.
“Out of all the wolf pups we have, these are the brave
ones,” Weber said. “Some wolf pups are very, very afraid.”
The wolves urinated and defecated on the cafeteria floor, but Weber
said that was a form of communication. Rami, for instance, was telling the pack she was the dominate
one.
“What this will show you is that wild animals don’t make
good pets,” Weber said.
Students responded favorably to the wolves’ presence.
Weber, who has traveled to schools in 30 different states with the
wolves, said some students are fearful of the animals. But most DHS students raised their hands when
asked if they have ever seen a bear or mountain lion in the wild.
“You guys are the wildest high school I’ve been
to,” he said, referring to the number of students who have seen wild animals.
Monday’s presentation was Weber’s third at Durango High
School in 10 years. The school makes a donation to Weber so he can pay the costs of transporting the
animals to the next school.
Paula Lutz, the school’s library director, arranged this
year’s visit. Lutz said she hopes students will learn about wolves’ behavior, that
they’re not overly dangerous animals and that they don’t make good pets.
“It’s always such a powerful presentation for the
students,” she said. “It really comes down to the wolf and their face. That’s what
they really take away from it.”
After the program, Weber said he supports wolf reintroduction
programs in the San Juan Mountains. People who are opposed to the idea need to recognize they live in
a wildland area, he said.
“Humans are a strange character that we have to destroy it
(wildland) to want to get it back,” he said.