By Gary R. Dobson

Dear Readers,

A few months ago, I was presented with an assignment that required me to read Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and then to author a research paper that would address a subject related, in some manner, to Shelley's classic novel.

While reading the book, it became obvious to me that if the fictional public had bothered to understand that the creation was not totally lacking in redeeming qualities, perhaps the "monster" would have eventually been accepted and even admired.

Over the centuries, the wolf has been reviled as a villainous "monster" worthy only of being tortured and murdered. This magnificent species has, until very recently, come very close, at the hands of man, to being eradicated from the face of the planet. It has truly been treated like a Frankenstein in wolf's clothing.

I invite you to read the tragic story, as told by me, of the wolf. I then ask that you take a moment to say a prayer for the continuing recovery of this remarkable species. Finally, I ask that you also say a prayer for all creatures, be they animal or human, who are condemned and victimized by society.

Gary R. Dobson

Dr. Frankenstein regarded his creation as a symbol of evil due initially to its physical appearance. He further determined that such a menacing figure must be a demon void of redeemable qualities. As Mary Shelley described in her novel, the doctor and the rest of society chose to stereotype the monster as being the devil incarnate.

Throughout most of its time on this earth, the wolf has suffered the same fate. The species has until quite recently been vilified in literature as a destructive, hellish creature that deserved to be eradicated from this planet. Grotesquely inaccurate graphic depictions, supposedly true-life stories passed from one generation to another, and the machinations of the clergy and various political factions served to offer the public an insidious image of the wolf.

Thankfully, the wolf has begun to shed, although not totally, its image as a satanic and demonic creature bent on the destruction of humans and livestock. Research and an informed society have helped the wolf achieve its current level of acceptance. Today, many people realize that the historical relationship between man and the wolf proved that distorted images and lies remain the true evils of life, not the wolf.

The story of society’s relationship with the wolf begins on a positive, albeit brief, note and was in essence a dating dance of mutual respect and admiration shared by the species and early man. As humans, we are naturally drawn to those who have a great deal in common with us. We find it enjoyable to be with a partner who shares our interests and exhibits respect for our ways and needs. In time, we may determine that a lifelong relationship with a certain partner is most attractive. We then enter into marriage and anticipate a permanent union.

In the early days of man’s relationship with the wolf, a permanent union was certainly anticipated. This was due in no small part to the fact that our early ancestors determined that they had a great deal in common with the wolf. Man observed that wolves enjoyed the bonding that is an integral part of familial life and indeed raised their young in much the same manner as human partners did.

Our early ancestors also noted that wolves would share food with others of their species and had established “leadership hierarchies”. Wolves also were fierce defenders of their territories much in the same manner as their human counterparts.

Perhaps the most telling proof of the early bonding between wolves and men was the fact that the two groups often hunted together. Researchers have long accepted the belief that wolves would assist early man’s hunting successes by leading our ancestors to the location of prized game. In fact, wolf biologist Ed Bangs believes that, in the early days of our civilization, “humans and wolves were brothers in the hunt”.

In North America, native peoples of the time also coexisted with wolves in much the same manner. Over the centuries, the relationship between the wolf and native people would remain one based on mutual respect and admiration. It would be a union that would far outlast that of the other cultures and the wolf.

The early dances enjoyed by man and the wolf were waltzes of tantalizing promise. Just, however, as a once good marriage can dissolve into a realm of greed and anger as the needs of one partner begin to be ravenously asserted over another, the wolf became the victim of man’s quest for power and control.

When man decided to raise livestock and not solely depend, for sustenance, on wild game, the once comfortable union with the wolf quickly dissolved into a marital separation of foreboding danger for the wolf. Rick McIntyre states in his exceptional book, A Society of Wolves, “Having a dependable food supply enabled the human race to multiply at an exponential rate, and that population increase radically changed the face of the world. The…meadows and forests that once provided habitat for game gradually were converted into cropland and pasture. With far less land and food to support the original levels of wild game, their populations crashed”.

As farms began to dot the landscape, the wolf determined that, in order to replenish its food supply, attacking livestock was a necessary and very viable option to searching for ever-diminishing wild prey. Killing slow-moving cattle, sheep, and other farmland animals enabled the wolf to maintain its livelihood and ensure continuation of its species.

In a last ditch attempt to subjugate the wolf to man’s control, our early ancestors decided that it might just be possible to domesticate the wolf into a submissive beast. Over a number of centuries, programs were initiated in which less aggressive wolves were crossbred with others of their species. The eventual result was that a new breed of animal was developed and it became known as the dog.

Man believed that the dog would assist its master in the hunt and serve as a combatant to wolves that threatened livestock. Disaster, however, reared its head as the wolf not only began to attack dogs, but also continued to feed on cattle, sheep, and other farmland animals.

In addition, wolves began to breed with their canine counterparts with the result being that wild-dogs emerged as a sub-species. Man quickly noted that these hybrids were extremely unwelcome. McIntyre writes, “…such hybrids lack the wariness of humans most wolves show”. Lopez states that, “Crossing wolves with dogs almost always produced hybrids that were headstrong and dangerous”. Even today, “…such crossbreeds…when kept as house pets, have attacked a number of people”.

As wolves continued to close the distance between the forests and farms in an effort to search for prey, humans came in contact with the wolf on an ever-increasing basis. Scattered reports of wolves killing humans began to emerge, although it is now believed that hybrids were responsible for the attacks.

Man, in his attempt to play with the laws of nature by developing the wolf-hybrids, had “given birth” to a new and highly dangerous species. It is true that our ancestors were successful in introducing the dog to civilization, but chose to ignore that playing God had also proved very costly. Just as Mary Shelley proved, to me, that Dr. Frankenstein refused to admit his culpability regarding what ultimately became of his creation, man would not admit blame regarding the development of a species that would cause great havoc in society.

The combination of man’s belief that wolves were killing humans and the fact that ever-increasing attacks on livestock, by any wolf-like creatures, were heightened as the supply of wild game quickly diminished caused man to launch an all-out war on its once favored hunting partner. The marriage of the wolf and man was now irrevocably mired in divorce and a reign of terror, initiated by our ancestors against the wolf, was instituted. It would last for centuries.

As The Middle Ages dawned, the persecution of the wolf had been underway for a very long time, but the species still inhabited Eurasia and many other parts of the world, albeit in ever-diminishing numbers. During the medieval era, however, the mission to eradicate the species would reach its zenith. Many of the executioners would be garbed in clerical robes.

Farming had now become the way of life for most of society and any loss of livestock would result in severe financial difficulties for the population. It is quite easy to understand that the loss of one cow might mean that a family would find it impossible to feed itself for a period of time. In addition, a loss of income might force a peasant to default on tax payments to their feudal lords and the crown. This could spell certain doom for a family. Therefore, any threat to a peasant’s livelihood would naturally be regarded as a serious problem.

The wolf had long been regarded as a threat to society and its livelihood. As the wolf’s natural food source (wild game) continued to be hunted by man, some, but not all, wolves were forced to escalate their attacks on livestock. It is quite understandable that the peasants would wish to protect their interests. Society, however, determined that it wasn’t just good enough to kill the wolves that attacked livestock. In its stead, it was determined that every wolf was a demon fully deserving of torture and death.

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