I was struck by the fact that the couple at the wild life preserve said they had bought wolves from breeders for educational purposes. We've always discussed the wolf as a signature species of true wilderness. I hadn't ever really thought it was legal or intelligent to breed such seemingly wild animals. However, I scrolled through website after website of people claiming to sell wolves, each plastered with photos of wolves (or some mix of wolves and dogs) acting much like domesticated dogs. I struggle with knowing that it doesn't take much to own a wolf. Its hard to imagine, especially after seeing how nervous the wolves were made by us on Sunday, that being bred and shipped across the country to live in cages or act in movies isn't harmful to the species. Its almost as if humans have taken over the species to a point where these wolves aren't fully wolves at all, even the pure blooded ones seem to be missing something essential to their nature when they can only be seen through a fence.
Yeah, this is pretty terrifying to think about. We humans seem to have an obsession with domestication, especially with large animals with sharp teeth (I'm thinking specifically of the film Grizzly Man as I write this). I think that many of the animals people claim are pet wolves are, in actuality, just large dogs, perhaps with a drop of wolf blood.
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