Wolf misconceptions

(2018-05-13 12:01)Vyt Wrote:  So, as we all know, there are a lot of wolves. And it is often proposed or believed that many of these 'wolves' are often other species, and haven't researched enough or realized it yet. There's also a lot of caution to newbies about not letting human stereotypes and misconceptions of animals be how they determine their theriotype. And that's really easy to debunk when the misconception is "I howl at the moon as a wolf" or "I'm the gamma of my pack". But I think there are some beliefs, held by wolf therians, that are still influenced by human stereotypes of wolves, but in a much more subtle way.

Main thesis: There are certain statements by/about wolf therians that seem to be centered on wolf behavior, but are actually stemming from human stereotypes.

1. "I'm a wolf because I'm aggressive!" - Actually, predators mostly aren't.
(I talked about this somewhat here, and much of the text will be directly copied.)
Hunting takes a lot of energy. So to be as efficient as possible, predators will tend to stack up as many advantages as they can before attacking. After all, a failed hunt doesn't just mean not eating, it can mean the predator gets hurt in the process as well. So predators pick "easy" targets: the young, the old, the sick, the isolated. Some, like wolves, hunt in packs. Some use stealth tactics. In areas where humans and tigers share land, humans can prevent attack by wearing a mask on the back of their head- thinking they've been seen is enough of a deterrent for tigers, even though you'd think "but the tiger could easily win!".
In summary: predators are very conservative with their attacks, and will only pick a fight they are sure they can win. Large herbivores are actually much more aggressive. Hippos cause far more trouble for humans that lions do.
To give a wolf example- wolves (and high-content wolf dogs) actually make terrible guard dogs, because they tend to be "shy" around humans and back away rather than attack.

2. "I'm a wolf because I'm independent!" -Most wolves aren't, and you're working from the human perspective of pride.
This is an argument I've seen most when wolf therians are defending why they aren't dogs. So many of the statements will be things like "I would never be subservient to anyone". I've literally seen a wolf therian say dogs were slaves to humans.
Let's put aside how dismissive/rude it is to classify an entire species (and the therians of that species) as enslaved or weak-willed. (And that's not my relationship as a dog-therian to humanity...at all). Let's just look at wolf behavior:

• Wolves are literally pack animals. "Lone wolves" aren't nearly as much of a thing as people think.
• Wolves have much stricter dominance relationships than dogs, so 'subservience' is still a wolf trait.
• This pride in individualism is a human cultural thing (especially an American thing). Wolves do not have a concept of pride in the same way. When wolves and dogs diverged, it wasn't a conscious, ego-based decision about being "free" and not being "subservient to humans". That's an incredibly anthropomorphized narrative, it is how humans romanticize wild animals, and this prideful emphasis on it is really a human cultural value.
  

Gotta love those lone wolf quotes. In reality most wolves want a pack and usually loners don't really survive long without one. There is a reason wolves run in packs, they would most likely not of evolved to have packs if they did not need them. This may sound silly but all that stuff about lone wolves really bug me. Good job with your post, you explained stuff well.

I was unsure if my aggression was a wolf trait or human trait as you probably known by my post I made questioning the situation, because wolves are not really as aggressive as most think, but they can be when needed or if they feel threatened. My aggression I sometimes experience in not so pleasant situations I feel is a little bit of both my wolf side and my human side since in general I am pretty awkward and shy around people I don't know in real life, but I do get a more aggressive mindset if I feel threatened or am not in safe state of mind (aka not feeling safe and calm in certain situations).

Sooo I have several years experience of working with wild canines, mostly higher-content wolfdogs, behaviorally almost identical to captive-raised pure wolves. I have had a close personal relationship with a wolf. I work with a public outreach program here to spread truth and good information on wolves, wolfdogs, and coyotes, specifically, and as such have had some formal education on the subject of their behavior. I feel like I can be pf some assistance here.

The first and foremost thing I can point out about *real* wolves-
They are the embodiment of anxiety.
I see a lot- and i mean a lot- of folks (less on here and more in the facebook groups ect but still) claim things like "their wolf" makes them feel brave and unstoppable.
Now, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time I was out cleaning the pen of a high content, 5yo male wolfdog. He had a DNA panel run by a company called Embark, a very reputable and accurate company, and came back as being 94% gray wolf. They have a margin of error of only 5% and he is, for the sake of the story, essentially a captive wolf.
It started to rain and got a little chilly. Great, mud!
Well, somewhere in the distance someone lit up their hearth and a stream of chimney smoke drifted over the treeline. It caught Mr. Wolfdog's eye and sent him into a PANIC. He squatted and shat himself and ran to the opposite side of the enclosure, where he paced frantically, shooting nervous glances at the smoke and occasionally stopping to pee put of fear, for FORTY-FIVE MINUTES until it stopped. There was no consoling him. He was distraught.

I have seen the same reactions out pf wolves and wolfdogs of higher content over ANYTHING new. Leashes, hats, a piece of raw chicken, a new bucket, a car starting, wind. They startle so easily. Always on their toes. The human equivalent would be something like a tin-foil-hat-wearing, ultra-jumpy, paranoid nutjob with a severe anxiety disorder. With socialization you can ease it somewhat but that constant fear of anything new is always there.

Wolves are NOT brave. That famed and often romanticized wariness we attribute to wild things presents itself as what a human could easily interpret as cowardice. Have you ever seen a majestic wolf shit itself out of fear of a dragonfly? It happens. Yes, even wild wolves like that. It is natural.

They are also extremely reactive and snappy animals (compared to the dogs we are so familiar with, anyways).
Yes, wolves are beautifully social and intelligent animals with strong bonds. But if you watch them interact, it's funny how overblown and dramatic they are. Although much of their "violence" is simply a social ritual and tends not to lead to serious harm, people who aren't familiar with wolves will often find it startling. What would be a "hey, knock it off, John, I don't like that" in a human or a tongue-lick and side-eye in a domestic dog can, for a wolf, be a full-on screaming match with fangs bared and snapping in the air, pulling out fur and seriously making noises you thought were reserved for werewolves and kaiju and horror-beasts in film. It looks like a fight to the death until suddenly they just stop and go their own ways or resume what they were doing.
They don't forget, either- wolves/wolfdogs will argue again and again over the same bullshit until its removed. In captivity this presents more of an issue because it can be triggered by resource guarding a food bowl or particular spot, while in the wild roaming minimizes that somewhat, but it does happen either way and is a natural tendency.


Neophobia and extreme anxiety are normal. So is being a loud, obnoxious, obsessive and grudging drama queen. Wolves, man.

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It just always makes me laugh a little that people think of wolves as these majestic, stoic, mysterious wraith-like beings when (I SAY THIS LOVINGLY) they are really just smelly fuzzballs made of drama and fear lol

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I try my best to put all of this in the easiest to understand-and-broadly-relate-to layman's terms possible, by the way, so if anyone would like a more scientific explanation...I can do that too. But this is a little more helpful in my experience.

Dramatized social rituals to avoid actual violence and hyperawareness of one's environment and cear of novel simuli are definitely valuable survival tactics. Just, from the point of view of someone raised in western human society, they can appear kind of funny.

Yes and this is me, I am very jumpy always on my toes, watching my back, I like being around other and will only got it alone if I have to and yes I have done that was my freinds looks like a full on death match but nothing happens and we walk away