Most people run from wolves but one brave couple spent six years of their lives living with the feared creatures in an effort to better understand their way of life.
Jim and Jamie Dutcher lived in a tent within the world's largest wolf enclosure in a bid to observe and document the behaviour of the wild animals. The married couple lived without electricity or running water and braved temperatures of -40 Farenheit as they spent six years living in the 25 acre enclosure on the edge of Idaho's Sawtooth wilderness.
And as these intimate images show, Jim, 69 and Jamie, 50, formed an incredible bond with the animals and gained a unique insight into the lives and behaviour of wolves.
By socialising with the pack from when they were pups, Jim and Jamie were able to gain the wolves trust and observe their behaviour in a way that few people ever have.
They bottle fed the wolves as cubs, watched them mature, establish a hierarchy within the pack, produce their own offspring and even witnessed the pack mourn the death of a loved one.
The couple then captured the intimate lives of the wolf pack on film, in a bid to dispel myths about the animals and show a different side to the usually socially-guarded animals.
Adjusting: By socialising with the pack from when they were pups, Jim and Jamie were able to gain the wolves trust and observe their behaviour in a way that few people ever have
Jim and Jamie Dutcher lived in a tent within the world's largest wolf enclosure in a bid to observe and document the behaviour of the wild animals. The married couple lived without electricity or running water and braved temperatures of -40 Farenheit as they spent six years living in the 25 acre enclosure on the edge of Idaho's Sawtooth wilderness.
And as these intimate images show, Jim, 69 and Jamie, 50, formed an incredible bond with the animals and gained a unique insight into the lives and behaviour of wolves.
By socialising with the pack from when they were pups, Jim and Jamie were able to gain the wolves trust and observe their behaviour in a way that few people ever have.
They bottle fed the wolves as cubs, watched them mature, establish a hierarchy within the pack, produce their own offspring and even witnessed the pack mourn the death of a loved one.
The couple then captured the intimate lives of the wolf pack on film, in a bid to dispel myths about the animals and show a different side to the usually socially-guarded animals.
Adjusting: By socialising with the pack from when they were pups, Jim and Jamie were able to gain the wolves trust and observe their behaviour in a way that few people ever have
Take a break from politics and enjoy nature at its finest.
Most cool and beautiful.
I'm going to send the article to my daughter pronto pups. We used to ride up to Wolf Haven in Wa St quite often and supported them when we could.
I hope to tell you, I'd rather hang out with these critters than 99.9% of humanity.
Thank you kindly for the article and lovely images!
Though he is an anti predator kinda guy, Big Dawg Approves.
Thanks Tex, the wolf is one of the most misunderstood creatures on earth.
"Thanks Tex, the wolf is one of the most misunderstood creatures on earth."
Indeed they are, very misunderstood. My Spirit Guide is the Wolf. Here is a bit of insight to the Wolf.
And one of the most magnificent. At least in my opinion.
Thank you for the great photos of the Wolves that shows that they are not always the vicious beast many think they are. While they can be that way, that is not their normal nature.
Thanks for stopping by RW.
To me the wolf is one of the most beautiful and intelligent animals on earth.
Indeed they are, Kavika. Not only is the Wolf, or Wa-ya in the Cherokee language, my Spirit Guide, but, also my Protector and Friend. While they can be vicious beasts when they have good cause to protect their family and their pack. Not so much unlike a great many human beings would be for the same reason.
And, there are some humans in the world who are more vicious 'beasts' than the Wolves.
They are so funny.
My Samoyed was part wolf. His father was half wolf and he came from Canada. His mother came from Australia. No inbreeding in that guy. He was so funny also. I was always in trouble with the county. Some neighbor would call the county on me for leaving this "poor" dog out on the coldest of days.
I would get a knock on the door and some animal control person would tell me I had to let the dog in. I would usually say something like "Okay, let's, let the dog in". Then I would call to my boy "Hey boy, wanna come in? Come on in buddy". He would just drop like a sack of potatoes on his side. The look on his face said "I am perfectly fine right here, you are on your own, I am not ready to come in".
Of course the county guy would would have to get a biscuit to try to entice my guy. He would sniff it and turn his nose the other way. Again, his facial expression was all telling like he was saying: "I don't want that crap, besides there is plenty of food out here".
BTW, any animal he saw outside besides dogs and cats were food to him. I am not kidding. He was huge for a Samoyed; at 6 months he blew past the standard for shoulder height and kept growing. Yet he could walk up on a bird and snag it out of the air while it was trying to get away. I would go to him, open his mouth and only a couple feathers remained. The bird would be gone. Fowl was his favorite food.
LOL, one time we were going to go for a walk, so I had him on a leash. In the yard was a good size buck. At least an 8 pointer. My guy started drooling. It just poured out of the corners of his mouth. He started crying to me with a look of "dad this is the best gift I could ever have, please let me go". I always thought my guy gave off a different scent than the typical domestic dog. That buck got this Oh Crap look on it's face and high tailed.
There are more stories, but I will just add one more. He liked to play a game, especially in cold weather. When I worked in the yard, he would like to go outside too. But, then after a half hour or so, he would disappear. So after a while I would look around to see where he was. Then as soon as we made eye contact, I realized, Oh Crap I fell for his trap. He would lower his head and his front shoulders. I would point my finger at him and say things like "NO, Yoiu better not, Don't you dare, STOP IT, STOP IT, etc." He would charge full steam ahead. As he approached he launched into the air and I would have to take a linebacker stance to catch him with both hands in the chest. My feet leave the ground and they wouldn't hit the ground again until I traveled 6 feet or more. All the while he has a gleam in his eye as he was trying to bite my stomach.
A couple seconds after landing he would give me a look of "I'll get you next". I would hug him, he would wag his tail and we would get back to work.
Good story dave...
Thanks Kavika.
Thanks for this fabulous article! I love the wolves, and would love to hug them, etc. Maybe this is why I loved my rescue Georgie so much-- he was part wolf... They are so gorgeous-- so magnificent! I know they have to eat and can be cruel in their killing... But so is everything when you get down to it.
These are wonderful pictures! Wish I could be there!!!
Hi Dowser, thanks for stopping by...They are magnificent animals.