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A review by baldingape
The Last Wolf by Jim Crumley
4.0
A compelling argument as to why we should be reintroducing the wolf into the wild in Scotland and Britain though he concentrates on Scotland in this book.
The demonising of wolves makes me think about the Terror management theory.
As humans, we only seem to want a select few animals to be within our territory, some are more preferred than others, and others merely tolerated. I've heard and seen comments about magpies being 'murderers' because they raid nests. I see those comments on wildlife enthusiast groups online and always find these sorts of comments to be revealing about the human psyche.
If you have a predator that could potentially tear a human apart with its teeth, that is all you need, that potential, for humans to demonise and, in the case of the wolf, eradicate.
Perhaps the wolf reminded and still reminds people too much of death, not just death in general but their own death.
The idea of the wolf, though, can be seen through a mist of romanticism and admiration.
But always from a distance. At least in our culture, in our 'western' cultures.
I like the idea of wolves being painters of mountains.
My favourite chapters were 'Norway' and 'Yellowstone,' 'The absence of wolves.'
'People can't manage the wilderness because when they try, as they have done in Scotland for the last few hundred years, they do so by putting the interests of people first.' Pg 144
Being a species ourselves, not outside of nature, It makes sense that we are 'people centric' just as a squirrel is 'squirrel centric.' But we are ignoring the fact that we are part of nature and so in our aim of improving our lives in our current version of 'people centric', we miss some vital parts of the whole. That whole being that because we are within the natural ecosystem ourselves, we have to look after the needs of the ecosystem. I guess it could be said we need to become 'eco centric' which in turn will be 'people centric' in that it can surely only help us.
'We depend on air and water....We depend on the wolf, too, and we have a need to defend the wolf as we defend the air and water- for our own good, not simply for the wolf's' Pg 44
The demonising of wolves makes me think about the Terror management theory.
As humans, we only seem to want a select few animals to be within our territory, some are more preferred than others, and others merely tolerated. I've heard and seen comments about magpies being 'murderers' because they raid nests. I see those comments on wildlife enthusiast groups online and always find these sorts of comments to be revealing about the human psyche.
If you have a predator that could potentially tear a human apart with its teeth, that is all you need, that potential, for humans to demonise and, in the case of the wolf, eradicate.
Perhaps the wolf reminded and still reminds people too much of death, not just death in general but their own death.
The idea of the wolf, though, can be seen through a mist of romanticism and admiration.
But always from a distance. At least in our culture, in our 'western' cultures.
I like the idea of wolves being painters of mountains.
My favourite chapters were 'Norway' and 'Yellowstone,' 'The absence of wolves.'
'People can't manage the wilderness because when they try, as they have done in Scotland for the last few hundred years, they do so by putting the interests of people first.' Pg 144
Being a species ourselves, not outside of nature, It makes sense that we are 'people centric' just as a squirrel is 'squirrel centric.' But we are ignoring the fact that we are part of nature and so in our aim of improving our lives in our current version of 'people centric', we miss some vital parts of the whole. That whole being that because we are within the natural ecosystem ourselves, we have to look after the needs of the ecosystem. I guess it could be said we need to become 'eco centric' which in turn will be 'people centric' in that it can surely only help us.
'We depend on air and water....We depend on the wolf, too, and we have a need to defend the wolf as we defend the air and water- for our own good, not simply for the wolf's' Pg 44