I thought that Alaska was crazy over wolves, and yes,
they still are, but in Catron County, where I now spend my winters,
things are crazier yet (HCN,
2/04/08).
I’m not sure how the threatened child
issue became so prominent in Catron County. Of course, wolves could
kill a child, or an adult, for that matter, but they almost never
do. In the vast majority of Alaska, where wolves are legally
trapped and shot, the impetus for the killing is to leave more wild
ungulates available for human harvest. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard
anyone up there worry about wolves attacking people. In 20 years of
living year-round just outside of Denali National Park, some of the
wolfiest country on earth, the worst problem I had with wolves was
having them steal a frozen bison head I’d left in my yard. I
estimate it weighed around 75 pounds, and one of the wolves picked
it up and walked away with it.
Within Denali Park, on the
other hand, where wolves have been protected for many decades, we
have the same habituation problems described by Catron County
ranchers. In the park, it’s not unheard of to have wolves walk
right by hikers. I had one almost climb onto my bus one evening
while I was sitting around with the door open. One of the
campgrounds in the park has been closed for years, and another only
open to hard-shell camping because wolves had been hanging around
consistently, taking items from tents and probably getting food.
The National Park Service is rightly very concerned about
liability, and would much prefer that the wolves go drag down a
caribou instead of lurking around campgrounds. It’s worth noting
that even with this high level of wolf/human contact, there have
been no aggressive incidents. But in the fullness of time,
everything that can happen will happen …
In the
meantime, Catron kids are a lot more likely to be killed by
vehicles than by wolves. And that ain’t likely to change.
Alan Seegert
Glenwood, New Mexico, and Denali Park,
Alaska
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Lupophobia blues.
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