S9. E5: Paul Joslin: Raised by Wolves
"I have often asked myself, ‘why is it that wolves don't kill people?’ Every year there are records of lions, tigers, bears and other large carnivores killing people. For wolves it very rarely ever happens. They are certainly quite capable of hauling down much larger prey than ourselves such as moose and bison. I think it has a lot to do with the dramatically different way that wolves raise their young compared to most other large carnivores.”
– Dr. Paul Joslin
Dr. Paul Joslin is a wildlife biologist who has spent decades with wolves and other predators in the US, Canada, India and Iran. His wolf research began in Ontario in the 1960s at a time when we did not know a lot about the daily lives of wolves. His stories are extraordinary. He lived alone in the wilderness for months at a time, tracking wolves to gain a deeper understanding of their lives. He did this before google maps, before there were even trails in many of these places, so he created his own. His knowledge and wisdom on wolves go deep, while his work took him all over the world.
I have been on a quest to understand the wolf hatred that seems to permeate the United States, especially Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, where we are currently slaughtering all of our wolves, but it’s not just here, wolf hatred is global – as humans everywhere seem to abhor these remarkable animals.
So, I asked Paul to come on the show and give his two cents as to why so many humans fear and hate an animal that does almost zero harm to us.
Please listen and share.
In gratitude,
Elizabeth Novogratz
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