A Most Pleasant Evening

Last night I went to a Master Naturalist meeting at Carlos Avery. Right next door is the Wildlife Science Center and we had a tour. They took us into a conference room. This room, like other fascinating science rooms I’ve seen, was full of cool things like bones, stuffed ducks, mounted birds, pelts, rocks, branches, leaves, and even a mounted three legged white wolf named Naomi who was known for eating some of Will Steger’s sled dogs. They took us outside and showed us Mexican gray wolves, Great Plains gray wolves, red wolves, coyote, red fox, gray fox, black bears, wolf dogs, porcupine, long-eared owl, and male peregrine falcon. The two hours sped by very quickly. Wolves are fascinating creatures. Their social structure is interesting although being an alpha leader of the pack is not as important in a refuge as it is in the wild. Even more interesting is the political importance of wolves. Some people say wolves are not a danger to humans. Others say wolves have killed and eaten people. When I was a child, my Grandmother would talk at length against wolves. She said wolves stalked her as she walked to and from school. She talked about being so scared going through the woods to her home because she could hear the wolves howling. She would make it to her house nearly hysterical with fear. According to Grandma, wolves going extinct would be a good thing. I don’t agree. Wolves are one of our Maker’s creatures and I hope they stay in our ecosystem. Wolf-dogs, on the other hand, scare me. They had two wolf dogs at the science center. One, a large black lab/wolf mix with piercing yellow eyes, stared at me until I felt like Little Red Riding Hood. He was a scary creature and I eventually had to look away. His owner got him from the Humane Society and was told he was a lab, husky mix. After he attempted to kill other dogs at the doggie day care, his owners brought him to the Wildlife Science Center to see if he was part wolf. That is one of the services this center provides. The staff can look at an animal and determine through jaw size, feet size, appearance, and behavior if the dog is a wolf hybrid. The porcupine was really cute. The staff fed it and it looked so cute and innocent sitting there chewing down a huge red strawberry. The porcupine crawled up the fence right in front of me and stretched out her hand like she was offering to shake hands. Yeah, no to the handshake with the porcupine, thank you. By nine o’clock we were still watching the bears when a wolf chorus began. One wolf near us started it. Then her partner threw back his head and harmonized. Then the Mexican gray wolves joined in and the red wolves. Soon all the wolves were howling and their voices surrounded us. The wolf music was like a round. One group would stop and another would start up again. Suddenly the red foxes behind us chimed in and another lady and myself jumped in alarm. We had forgotten about them. The wolf chorus made my heart pound. Wolves are such drama queens. Then it was over. All that needed to be said had been said. This was a most pleasant way to spend a Wednesday evening.
The wildlife Science Center offers tours on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. No reservations are required. $6 for adults and $4 for children. www.wildlifesciencecenter.org