Wolf Woes Spring Break 2016 was wild, but not in the way you might expect. To get to the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center in Divide, I navigated the hairpin tums of Highway 24, the mountain pass west of Colorado Springs, and contended with the snowy roads of late March, I paid my fifteen-dollar admission and browsed the gift shop while waiting for the tour to begin. The shelves were lined with stuffed animals, calendars, and wolf-themed jewelry. A couple of dogs milled about, sniffing feet, nudging legs, and amusing children. After I spent a couple minutes exploring the shop, our tour guide called us over. She reminded me of a wolf mom gathering her pups. She introduced herself as Casey and warned the group that although we'd learn about the great qualities of wolves, the center served the public as an educational facility, and that our education would include hearing about the history of wolves’ harsh treatment in America. Casey gestured to a map on the wall. A few patches of color sparsely dotted the map: a depiction of the current, and very limited, range of wolves on the North American continent. She flipped the map over, and on the other side, areas of blue, green, and red covered the entire continent. This second map illustrated the range of the three original species of wolves, before European settlers colonized the space, According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Historically....[iJn North America, gray wolves once ranged from coast to coast, and from Canada to Mexico.” But now, a subspecies of gray wolf, the Mexican wolf, has only fifty individuals left living, according to Casey. One factor in the tragic decline of the Canis lupus species is the complex of beliefs and fears about wolves. Consider these sayings: “Wolf in sheep's clothing,” “Ravenously hungry,wolf one’s food,” “Big bad wolf,” “Cry wolf,” and “Throw somebody to the wolves” (Hunt 2). Many American children grow up with the stories of Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. Remember the Brothers Grimm tale? ‘Oh, grandmother, what big hands you have.’ ‘All the better to grab you with!” “Oh, grandmother, what a horribly big mouth you have.’ ‘All the better to eat you with!” And with that he jumped out of bed, jumped on top of poor Little Red Cap, and ate her up. With this ultimate act of aggression in mind, it’s no wonder a large portion of the American public fears and reviles wolves. Casey explained that farmers’ influence on public policy is another cause of wolves’ dwindling numbers. Farmers rely on the trope of the big bad wolf in their cases against wolves: “Ranchers bemoan wolf predation on their livestock and hunters complain about reduced elk and deer herds where wolves roam the land: cape. These constituencies often conjure stories about wolves’ savagery and propagate mythic tales of their unlimited appetites” (Keefover and Salvo). Wildlife and government officials remain always “ready to pull the trigger when packs pose problems” and when the pressure from farmers mounts. Representatives from Michigan and ‘Wisconsin asked for permission in 2010 to cut the wolf population by 10 percent annually in response to farmers’ lobbying (“Man vs. Wild”). However, data from the USDA indicates that farmers and public officials exaggerate the problem of cattle deaths caused by wolves. Of 94 million head of cattle lost to unintended deaths in the agricultural business, wolf kills only accounted for .2%, the second smallest percentage. Weather, poisoning, and domestic dogs all rank above wolves as causes of cattle death ("Livestock Losses”)Casey flipped the maps up and revealed a board covered in graphic images of dead wolves. My stomach turned. She described the chilling practice of aerial hunting that accounts for many wolf kills, In Alaska, the issue split the public in the late 2000s. Although most hunters value the concept of the “fair chase,” Alaskan officials asserted that thei ‘current aerial hunting program is not hunting at all but constitutes legitimate wildlife management,” a statement that drew criticism from the scientific community (“Defenders”). Between 2003 and 2008, aerial hunters killed over 1,000 wolves in Alaska (Purohit). Many states, including Wyoming and Idaho, announced plans to follow in Alaska’s footsteps. A February 2016 press release from the Center for Biological Diversity argues that Idaho officials have been overestimating wolf populations to justify continued aerial hunting or “management” practices. ‘The legislature “request{ed] another $400,000 to kill wolves for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.” The Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board sought to reduce the number of wolves in the state to 150 individuals by 2019. In 2015, the group killed 72 wolves, at a cost of $7,000 per wolf (Santarsiere). Wolves provide humans and nature with many benefits — benefits which are often ignored by proponents of wolf “management”. In “Wolf Wars” Wendy Keefover and Mark Salvo write, “The presence of wolves affects entire ecosystems, from beetles to bears.” Because wolves often prey on weak individuals with sicknesses or injuries, they increase the overall health of species. Furthermore, when wolves prey on animals such as elk and coyotes, populations of beavers, birds, moose, and other species grow. Especially in the face of climate change, wolves play an essential role in maintaining the health and balance of ecosystems. Wolves® “presence buffers the effects of global warming by making carrion available year-round for scavengers such as grizzly bears and golden and bald eagles.” Climate change has wreakedhavoc on white pine bark, a “critical food source” for grizzly bears. With food disappearing from their proverbial plates, grizzly bears rely more and more on wolves (Keefover and Salvo). Considering the hunting history in the United States and the important role wolves have in the ongoing ecological drama, advocates are doing what they can to save these keystone species. In 1995, officials restored wolves to the Northern Rockies. There they transplanted a ‘group of Canadian wolves, which became a pack known as the Druids. At the peak of the Druids, 37 individual wolves lived together in the pack (Keefover and Salvo). Two other packs grew from the Druids, including the Cottonwood and Slough Creek packs. These wolves and others “maintain complex social networks across their landscape, and work as a unit to survive” (Keefover and Salvo). ‘Casey explained tous that the lighter wolf is older shan and acts like a patent tothe darker and younger one, and ‘thatthe younger one often eats after the lighter one for this reason, This behavior is pat ofthe social network that wolves create In regions that do not support the reintroduction of wolves into nature, many wolf sanctuaries and educational facilities have sprung up. The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center isone of these. They provide wolves and wolf dogs with large expanses of wooded terrain to play and socialize in like their wild counterparts. The center also takes care to craft wolf families that have safe and healthy social dynamics. To replicate the lifestyle of wolves in the wild, the facility has implemented a feeding schedule that provides fresh meat to the animals five days of the week, keeping two days for fasting. Casey explained that wolves living in nature would likely not eat every day, so the wolves at their facility fast on Thursdays and Sundays. On the tour, I also learned the personal histories of each of the wolves. The owner of the center purchased one of the wolves from a photo farm that had planned to put the wolf down because of an eye condition that made her less than ideal for photographs. Photo farms starve their wolves and keep them in cramped areas. Casey warned us that most of the calendars we see for sale with pictures of wolves on them buy the photographs from these farms, She advised us to buy only calendars or mugs with the National Geographic stamp on them or the stamp of educational centers like their own. The last wolf we met on the tour, a beautiful off-white creature with eyes that seemed to squint in a smile, approached the fence cautiously. Shunka, Casey told us, used to be married to another wolf who passed away recently. When he arrived at the shelter, no one could pet him except for the owner of the facility. Perhaps because he has been widowed, Casey suggested, Shunka now appreciates the human touch and even participates in their “Walk on the Wild Side” tours during which visitors can take the wolves on leash walks. So few people inhabit Divide, Colorado, home of the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center, that they do not elect a human mayor. Instead, the animal and wildlife centers in the town each nominate one of their nonhuman friends for the office. Visitors can vote for their favorite by making monetary donations that support the organizations. Shunka represents the Colorado Wolf and WildlifeCenter this year, and I had the pleasure of casting my vote for him. My trip to the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center opened my eyes to the harsh realities that wolves in America face, After hearing such shocking statistics and learning about tragic ‘wolf hunting practices that remain legal in the United States, I felt compelled to continue my research, Even that proved to be a challenge, since there is a surprising lack of scholarship dealing with wolves. Although I scoured the online databases for hours, | could not find any articles that exposed the abuses that wolves suffer at photo farms. At the end of the tour, Casey delivered on one promise of the day that I’d eagerly anticipated. She gathered us together in a circle and counted down. We all howled, and a chorus of wolves joined in. Reflecting on this experience, I know that their reputation as vicious beasts is unfortunate and unwarranted. These creatures deserve our awe, respect, and protection. Shunka: Divide, Colorado mayoral hopefilWorks Cited "Defenders Hails Introduction of Bill to End Aerial Hunting of Wolves and Bears in Alaska.” PR NewswireSep 25 2007. ProQuest. Web. 10 Apr. 2016 "Grey Wolf: Canis Lupus." South Dakota Field Office. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9 Sept. 2013. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. Grimm, Wilhelm. "Little Red Riding Hood." Little Red Cap. By Jacob Grimm. N.p.: np., n.d. N. pag. Little Red Riding Hood. University of Pittsburgh, 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. Hunt, David. "The Face Of The Wolf Is Blessed, Or Is It? Diverging Perceptions Of The Wolf." Folklore 119.3 (2008): 319-334.Academic Search Elite. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. Keefover, Wendy, and Mark Salvo. "Wolf Wars." Earth First! Journal 32.1 (2012): 11. ELibrary Academic/Public Library [ProQuest]. Web. 10 Apt. 2016. "Man Versus Wild." Current Events 110.4 (2010): 7. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. "Livestock Losses." WildEarth Guardians. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. Purohit, Sandra. 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