The Wolf That Changed America

Namaste' fellow earth aliens! Hope this finds you alive and living :0) I am including a few pictures here taken this early winter of Tibet Night Song my littlest wolf angel, she was having a really bad day with her disease and illness so decided to add her spirit here. She has been a real survivor in her life. And I know lobos spirit flows within her own as all is connected. Tibet is a little wolf that has helped to change my life in various ways, and her soul in my life has brought with it may lessons good, and not so good. One day her tale will also be told.

I wanted to share the amazing tale by a Canadian naturalist that occurred in the late 1800's, his name was Ernest Thompson Seton. This film "The Wolf That Changed America" was especially reminiscent for me because I had read Seton's book when I was a kid, and like so many other books I remember so clearly and fondly, such as "Never Cry Wolf" Or "Island Of The Blue Dolphins" this one truly made me weep as a child out of sadness, and fondness of the lessons, it was one I did not forget in my life. I could not understand the mentality of Mr Seton in the beginning of the story, claiming to be a naturalist, and also having the mindset of wolves that he had held up in Canada. I recall thinking at 10 "oh this guy is a bad man!"

I look at some of the people I currently know today, whom I know are avid outdoorspeople and naturalists (they love taking photographs of wildlife and live literally amongst nature in the woods like I do) yet they too look at wolves as something almost alien to the planet, a foreign creature not necessary/ needed in the greater scheme of things. BUT perhaps they have never had that AHA moment experience with another sentient being such as the wolf , maybe they have not allowed that *wall* to go down just enough, that they can be graced by such a powerful wild wisdom and connection with ALL things great and small.

A true wild wisdom will course through your entire body and very veins, it will feel like the greatest love story and romance you have ever and will ever know, when you FEEL it, you KNOW it instantly.

Being an avid naturalist and artist myself I have had such a romance with nature and *all* it's residents from the moment I entered this world, it has brought me through some of the darkest, and brightest periods in my life. But I must also keep in mind that some simply will be led down other paths and ways to their lessons from my own kindrid relationship forged, some of those ways differing either subtly or drastically from the next persons.

It was interesting to see the book come alive in a way, (although books grant you vivid images in a way no film ever can) and I am sure you will also enjoy this film, like I did. The scenery of New Mexico is spectacular, the wolves engaging and stoicly beautiful. You can certainly see how such wilderness, regardless of Ernest Setons temporary job, would have still swept his breath away.

I enjoyed that they had the wolf biologist Doug Smith on the film, because right before they talked to him in part 2, Seton thought the wolf was playing a trick on him by not taking the first of baits. I thought to myself "No, the wolves like coyotes over time were simply getting smarter." So I did have to laugh.

This is a well put together film/recreation of a timeless tale, one I will have to buy for my library. But be forwarned if your like me, you may shed some tears watching this film too, it has some very moving moments, it made me go awwww, wow, and bow my head in shame for the past, which brought me to the present day mentality that still exists in several areas.

Near the end Mr Seton, has a magical experience, one that would alter the course of his life for it's duration. That powerful energy a wolf carries, that independance, that grace hits Ernest Seton directly and hard. All things happen for a reason, and Lobo became Setons reason. One can't not go deep down inside within their own souls, during this film, it shows how capable we all are to positive change if we simply allow the beauty of life to kiss us.

click on the following for the full episode of this nature film

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-wolf-that-changed-america/video-full-episode/4414/

The introduction/synopsis

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-wolf-that-changed-america/introduction/4260/

The Wolf That Changed AmericaIntroduction
In 1893, a bounty hunter named Ernest Thompson Seton journeyed to the untamed canyons of New Mexico on a mission to kill a dangerous outlaw. Feared by ranchers throughout the region, the outlaw wasn’t a pistol-packing cowboy or train-robbing bandit. The outlaw was a wolf.
Lobo, as locals simply called him, was the legendary leader of a band of cattle-killing wolves that had been terrorizing cattle ranchers and their livestock. Known as the “King of the Currumpaw,” Lobo seemingly had a mythical ability to cheat death, eluding the traps that ranchers had set for him throughout the countryside.
It was up to Seton, a naturalist as well as a professional animal trapper, to exterminate this “super-wolf.” The ensuing battle of wits between wolf and man would spark a real-life wilderness drama, the outcome of which would leave a lasting effect on a new and growing movement in America: wilderness preservation.
The Wolf That Changed America premieres Sunday, November 23 at 8pm on PBS (check local listings).

Movie: Maiden and the wolves

Namaste' all it's been a while I am coming off a three week stint with influenza ;0) with a wildlife rehab test coming up in a weeks time, while still having to *live* beyond the sick ha ha, blogging was not on the list of high importance. I have a new personal post I will be adding, as soon as I resize the photos to accompany that story, but first wanted to get this movie out there (The Maiden And The Wolves) to you all! I definitely want to see this movie! even though yes, it's a foreign language. I am sure it will eventually come out with subtitles. The imagry is spectacular, you will thoroughly enjoy going through the youtube makings of this movie and other fascinating clips/trailers etc I am including in this blog post. Big shout out to Mike, he's such an amazing wolf news guy. Personally I was too caught up in the scenes to care that I couldn't understand a word they were saying. Well ok, I admit I could understand a few of the words, ;0)

On another note in regards to the movie Surviving with Wolves, I posted about in another blog, the author has admitted the story was mostly made up, read here http://www.reuters.com/article/peopleNews/idUSL2914170420080229?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

You can watch this movie online however by downloading this torrent http://www.box.net/shared/jugq7dew48 I'll let you know if it comes out on dvd with subtitles.


Now onto the blog!

At the end of World War 1, 20 year-old Angèle is determined to become the first woman veterinarian. Her life is an adventurous one and she becomes the object of ruthless rivalry between the man she is supposed to marry, a visionary but unscrupulous industrialist and a simple man who has withdrawn to the mountains to live among wolves, away from the madness of humans. Angèle exploits this rivalry to attain her real goal: saving the wolves.

( pics at) http://www.filmsdistribution.com/film.php?id=297

Trailer: http://www.lajeunefilleetlesloups-lefilm.com/

Must watch: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3zaqp_la-jeune-fille-et-les-loups_shortfilms

Making of "La jeune fille et les loup" (youtube video)

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

must see clip !
http://www.toutlecine.com/film/videos/0037/00378246/00011587-extrait-1-la-jeune-fille-et-les-loups.html


More-in-depth synopsis:
Producer-turned-helmer Gilles Legrand (“Malabar Princess”) returns to the French Alps for his sophomore feature, “The Maiden and the Wolves,” a ripping Gallic yarn that should match or exceed the robust figures of its predecessor in Francophone countries after Feb. 13 opening. Bewitching, lushly produced pic casts French pinup Laetitia Casta as a feisty Edwardian-era femme whose fate becomes entangled with that of the last wild wolf pack on Mont Blanc.

“Wolves” could roam further afield, especially to France’s neighboring countries, but any farther and it will probably need to be tamed with dubbing to reach kiddie markets.
Not long before World War I, in a French Alpine town near the Italian border, a pack of slaughtered wolves is delivered to local taxidermist Leon (Patrick Chesnais). A surviving black cub comes down from the mountains looking for his family, and is saved from discovery and certain death by Leon’s young daughter Angele, who releases him back into the wild.

The Great War comes and goes, making local foundry owners the Garcins rich. Family patriarch Albert Garcin (Michel Galabru), who happens to be Angele’s godfather, has given a free lifetime’s lease of a shack in the hills to a gypsy woman (played in flashbacks by Elisa Tovati in which she’s seen, literally, having dances with wolves on stage). Her son Guiseppe (Stefano Accorsi), who appears to be slightly mentally handicapped, guards the wolves he’s befriended up there, especially the black pack leader he calls Carbone.

Now grown, Angele wants to become a veterinarian specializing in wild animals, despite the fact that everyone scoffs at the idea of a woman vet. In search of experience, she hooks up with circus owner Zhormov (Miglen Mirtchev), who’s keen to capture a wolf from the mountains above her hometown.

Unfortunately, Zhormov’s plane crashes in the snow and he must leave an injured Angele behind while seeking help. Recognizing her smell from his days as a pup, Carbone rescues her with his pack, and she falls into the care of Guiseppe.
Script (credited to helmer Legrand, Philippe Vuaillat and Jean Cosmos) satisfyingly knits all the story strands together by the end. Although largely family-friendly, pic does contain a scene where Angele bares a breast for art’s sake, and adult themes are lightly touched on via mentions of illegitimate children and the suggestion that Guiseppe might ravage Angela at any moment.
Kids of all ages, however, will adore the animal scenes here, which feature some of the finest lupine thesping ever committed to celluloid. (Moments in versions of “White Fang” or "The Call

of the Wild” might compare if the creatures there weren’t merely half-dog, half-wolf crosses.) A sequence in which young Carbone has to defend himself against a bird of prey is a particular knockout. The human perfs aren’t bad either, although a little hammy in places.

Legrand’s helming rattles along at a breathless clip, and the whole thing looks like a treat, thanks to a rock-solid tech package. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117936182.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&nid=2562

Elusive Arctic Wild Wolves Filmed

Namaste' all! The following is amazing . If anyone gets a chance to watch this movie I am SURE you will love it but heres a sneak preview for you below, click on any of the links with the pics to watch a few clips from this spectacular journey in our Canadian Arctic.

Elusive wolves caught on camera
By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC News

White Falcon, White Wolf is on BBC Two on Friday 1 February at 2000 GMT and Sunday 3 February at 1755 GMT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/naturalworld/page2.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7213731.stm



click to watch First footage of wolves hunting waterfowl


Remarkable new footage of Canada's Arctic wolves has been caught on camera by a BBC crew.
The team managed to film the wolves taking to the water to hunt waterfowl - behaviour that has never been seen before, according to an expert.
Arctic wolves live in the Canadian Arctic and northern parts of Greenland; observing them is a difficult task as they rarely interact with humans.
The team followed a pack on Ellesmere Island for several weeks last summer.
This glimpse into the lives of these elusive animals was filmed for the Natural World wildlife programme: White Falcon, White Wolf, which also features other animals, including gyr falcons, Arctic foxes and snowy owls, that live on the remote island.

The wolves were filmed along with other animals on the island
Click to watch Snowy owl attack

Wolf expert David Mech, from the US Geological Survey, said: "I'd never seen wolves try to catch waterfowl before and this was interesting to see."
Usually, he said, wolves eat large hoofed animals, although they will vary their diet as circumstances dictate.
He explained: "They take advantage of whatever food opportunities are available, and in this case, these waterfowl were available, so they took advantage of trying to get them.
"I'm interested in the challenges these animals overcome to hunt their food. I've been intrigued with how the wolf manages to solve problems in so many different ways, with so many different species."

Lucky find
Ellesmere Island sits at the northernmost tip of Canada; it is only during the brief Arctic summer that the snow thaws to reveal the true features of the rugged landscape beneath.
Here, the BBC Natural History Unit tracked down a pack of eight wolves, including a dominant male and three one-year-olds.

The wolves, especially one called Lucy, were bold and playful

click to watch Inquisitive nature

Harry Hoskyns-Abrahall, assistant producer of White Falcon, White Wolf, said the team was lucky to come across the wolves almost as soon as they arrived on the island.
He told the BBC News website: "We went to this particular area because wolves had been spotted there a few years earlier.
"We were immediately encouraged when we found wolf tracks and marking posts on day one; and then the next day, we went out on the same route and we saw a wolf, which was absolutely unbelievable and very exciting."
By following the wolf and its tracks, the team was eventually able to track down a den.
"We were incredibly lucky," said Mr Hoskyns-Abrahall. "Once you've got the den, you have somewhere where the wolves are going to focus their behaviour."

THE ARCTIC'S WHITE WOLF
The Arctic wolf is actually a subspecies of the grey wolf
In comparison it has a shorter stature but a bulkier build
Scientific name for the Arctic wolf is Canis lupus arctos
It ranges across the Canadian Arctic and north Greenland
Packs will prey on caribou, musk oxen, hares, lemmings
The crew was able to film the animals going about their daily business.
"The most incredible part was when we saw the young wolf swim out to the middle of a lake and go after the geese, we just couldn't believe that it could seriously consider getting a goose in that way," he added.
Inquisitive nature
The team was also amazed by the wolves' boldness.
"The younger wolves in the pack would come right up to us, and they would come up to our camp and empty our rucksacks - you would wake up and find your clothing spread all over the place. They were very inquisitive," explained Mr Hoskyns-Abrahall.

click to watch Arctic Wolf Diary (1)
click to watch Arctic Wolf Diary (2)

Arctic explorer Jim McNeill, who worked with the crew and kept a diary of his experiences for the BBC News website, was particularly taken with one young wolf who he nicknamed Lucy.
He said: "The highlight for me was one afternoon when the crew was off filming.
"Lucy came near the camp and I spent the best part of an afternoon with her in spectacular sunshine. We just shared a space - it felt extremely special."
He added: "I've been exploring this area for 25 years and to spend this time with these animals gave me another perspective on Arctic life.

Luck played a factor when tracking down the Arctic wolves

"To be part of the process of finding them and then capturing that footage was a fantastic feeling."
Fergus Beeley, producer of the programme, said making the film was something of an accomplishment.
He said: "Arctic wolves have been an aspiration [to film] of mine for about 15 years.
"I have a bit of a reputation for going for animals that are a tricky: filming the wolves posed the ultimate challenge.
"We didn't know where they would be 'denning', what their movements would be, so we had to do a lot of planning based on 'guestimates' - and luckily they worked out to be right."