Nature (1982–…): Season 27, Episode 4 - The Wolf That Changed America - full transcript
Man: COMING OUT
WEST TO HUNT WOLVES
WAS AN IMPULSE THING.
I NEVER IMAGINED I T
WOULD CHANGE MY LIFE.
Narrator: IN THE AUTUMN OF 1893,
A MAN CALLED ERNEST
THOMPSON SETON
CAME TO NEW MEXICO.
THESE WERE THE DYING DAYS
OF THE OLD WILD WEST,
AND SETON'S MISSION
WAS TO HUNT DOWN THE
LAST OF THE OUTLAWS...
THE OUTLAW WOLVES.
BUT WHAT BEGAN AS A TWO-WEEK
JOB TURNED INTO AN EPIC DUEL.
A DUEL THAT WOULD
TOUCH SETON'S HEART.
AND ONE WHICH, IN THE END,
HELPED TO CHANGE FOREVER
AMERICA'S RELATIONSHIP
WITH ITS WILDERNESS.
AND IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF
ONE REMARKABLE ANIMAL.
Abraham: THE STAGE FOR THE
DRAMA COULD HARDLY BE WIDER,
OR MORE EPIC.
"NEW MEXICO"...
A LAND WHERE THE
ROLLING PRAIRIES
MEET THE FOOTHILLS
OF THE ROCKIES.
BY 1893...
THE YEAR SETON CAME
TO HUNT WOLVES...
THIS WAS A LAND BEING
SWEPT BY PROFOUND CHANGE.
THE MODERN WORLD
WAS STEAMING IN.
SETTLERS WERE ARRIVING
BY THE TRAINLOAD.
WHAT HAD RECENTLY BEEN THE
LAND OF THE APACHE AND THE BUFFALO
WAS NOW THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY.
LIVESTOCK WERE POURING IN.
RANCHING WAS BIG BUSINESS.
BUT THE OLD WEST HADN'T
COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED.
PARTS OF NORTHERN NEW
MEXICO WERE STILL UNTAMED.
IN THE REMOTE CURRUMPAW VALLEY,
WILD WOLVES STILL
ROAMED THE CANYONS.
A VICIOUS WAR
WAS UNDERWAY
TO EXTERMINATE THE LAST
OF THESE CATTLE-KILLERS.
ONE OF THESE WOLVES, HOWEVER,
SEEMED TO POSSESS AN
ALMOST SUPERNATURAL ABILITY
TO CHEAT DEATH.
SETON SOON HEARD ABOUT THIS
"SUPERWOLF" FROM THE COWBOYS.
HE WAS KNOWN AS "LOBO"...
KING OF THE CURRUMPAW.
LOBO AND HIS BAND OF OUTLAWS
WERE BLAMED FOR KILLING
HUNDREDS OF CATTLE...
AND NOT SURPRISINGLY,
THE CATTLE BARONS
AND THEIR COWBOYS
WANTED HIM DEAD.
IN MANY WAYS, SETON
WAS THE PERFECT ASSASSIN.
HE'D HUNTED WOLVES FOR
BOUNTY MONEY BEFORE,
AND WRITTEN A MANUAL
FOR HIS FELLOW TRAPPERS
ON HOW TO CATCH THEM.
HE EVEN CLAIMED THAT ONE
OF HIS SCOTTISH ANCESTORS
HAD WIPED OUT THE LAST REMAINING
WOLVES IN THE BRITISH ISLES.
BUT BEHIND THE GUN LAY A
MORE COMPLEX CHARACTER.
SETON WAS A NATURALIST
WHO'D GROWN UP IN THE
BACK WOODS OF CANADA
WITH A REAL LOVE AND
FASCINATION FOR NATURE.
HE WAS ALSO AN ARTIST,
TRAINED IN PARIS AND LONDON,
WHOSE FAVORITE SUBJECTS
WERE THE WILD ANIMALS
OF NORTH AMERICA.
THE STORY OF THE HUNT FOR LOBO
IS THE STORY OF A DIVIDED MAN.
ON THE ONE HAND, A ROMANTIC,
WHOSE HEART WAS
WITH THE WILDERNESS
AND ITS WILD CREATURES.
AND ON THE OTHER...
AND HIRED HUNTER, WHO,
LIKE THE COWBOYS,
SAW WOLVES AS SOMEHOW
DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER ANIMALS...
AS WANTON KILLERS THAT
HAD TO BE DEALT WITH.
Man as Ernest Seton: I AM TO
GET BOARD AND LODGING,
ALL EXPENSES, AND BOUNTY MONIES,
IN EXCHANGE FOR WHICH
I SHALL RID THE COWBOYS
OF THEIR DEMON WOLF.
I THINK TWO WEEKS SHOULD
BE ENOUGH TO CATCH THE PEST.
Abraham: LITTLE DID SETON
KNOW THE REMARKABLE WOLF
HE WAS UP AGAINST...
THE WILD AND ROMANTIC
STORY THAT FOLLOWS
IS BASED ENTIRELY ON THE JOURNAL
THAT SETON KEPT AT THE TIME,
AND THE BOOK HE
SUBSEQUENTLY WROTE.
IT IS, ACCORDING TO SETON,
"ALMOST COMPLETELY TRUE."
"THE ANIMALS," HE LATER WROTE,
"WERE REAL CHARACTERS,
WHO LIVED THE LIVES
I HAVE DEPICTED."
AND YET, SETON MADE
SUCH SURPRISING,
ALMOST HEROIC CLAIMS
ABOUT LOBO AND HIS PACK
THAT WE ARE BOUND TO WONDER
HOW MUCH OF IT WE
CAN REALLY BELIEVE.
A DREAD
OF THIS "LOBO" HAS SPREAD
AMONG THE RANCHMEN.
AND NOW THE PRICE
SET ON HIS HEAD IS $1,000—
A RECORD BOUNTY FOR A WOLF.
HE IS MY NUMBER-ONE TARGET.
SETON HAD COME TO NEW MEXICO
EQUIPPED TO WAGE
A POISON CAMPAIGN...
A TRIED AND TESTED METHOD
FROM HIS WOLF-HUNTING
DAYS IN CANADA.
A PIECE OF MEAT LACED WI TH
A FEW DROPS OF STRYCHNINE
MAKES A GOOD WOLF BAIT.
THE POISON CAUSES
VIOLENT SPASMS,
AND THE VICTIM SOON
DIES OF ASPHYXIATION.
BUT IT'S CRUCIAL
THAT THE BAIT IS FREE
FROM THE TAINT OF METAL,
OR ANY TRACE OF HUMAN SCENT,
OR THE WOLF WILL GET
SUSPICIOUS AND AVOID I T.
IT WAS LATE OCTOBER.
SETON SET OUT TO
LAY HIS FIRST BAITS.
OVER THE FOLLOWING DAYS,
HE MADE A SERIES OF WIDE
CIRCUITS AROUND THE PLAINS,
DROPPING A PIECE OF PIECE OF
POISONED MEAT EVERY SO OFTEN,
TAKING CARE NOT TO TOUCH THEM
WITH HIS HANDS, OR
TO GET OF F HIS HORSE.
SETON, THE MAN WHO'D
WRITTEN THE TEXTBOOK
ON HOW TO CATCH A WOLF,
WAS CONFIDENT THAT HIS
EXPERTLY PREPARED BAITS
WOULD SOON BRING HIM HIS
THOUSAND-DOLLAR BOUNTY.
ALONGSIDE HIS HUNT FOR LOBO,
SETON ALSO PURSUED
HIS LOVE OF NATURE,
TAKING EVERY CHANCE TO LEARN
MORE ABOUT THE WILD INHABITANTS
OF THE CURRUMPAW.
AT FIRST, THIS PLACE
SEEMED UNINVITING...
COMPARED TO THE LUSH PRAIRIES
OF MANI TOBA.
BUT THE MORE I EXPLORE,
THE MORE I REALIZE
IT'S A PARADISE.
EVERY SPINY BUSH
IS TEEMING WI TH LIFE.
AND EVERY DAY I MAKE NEW FRIENDS
AND LEARN NEW FACTS.
I WAS AMAZED TO SEE
THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN
STILL DANCING IN THE FALL,
SO LONG AFTER THEIR
COURTSHIP SEASON.
PROVIDED THEY'RE FAT AND FIT,
THEY SEEM TO LIKE NOTHING BETTER
THAN A SHIMMY.
THEY SHARE THE PLAINS WI
TH HUNDREDS OF PRAIRIE DOGS.
AND AS FAR AS I CAN SEE,
THESE LITTLE YAP-RATS
NEVER GO MORE THAN
100 YARDS FROM HOME.
EVERY BURROW IS A PLUNGE HOLE...
A SHEER DROP FOR RAPID ESCAPE.
SETON THE NATURALIST
MAY HAVE BEEN CRAMMING HIS
NOTEBOOKS WITH OBSERVATIONS,
BUT HIS HUNT FOR LOBO WAS ABOUT
TO SUFFER A HUMILIATING SETBACK.
NOVEMBER THIRD —
I SET OUT IN THE AFTERNOON
TO CHECK MY BAITS,
AND SOON PICKED UP
LOBO'S TRACKS.
HIS MONSTROUS PAW
PRINT IS UNMISTAKABLE.
IT MEASURES OVER FIVE INCHES
FROM CLAW TO HEEL,
WHICH MUST PUT HIM
AT AROUND 150 POUNDS.
FURTHER AHEAD,
I FOUND THAT LOBO HAD
COME TO ONE OF MY BAITS,
SNIFFED AT I T, AND
THEN PICKED IT UP.
I GALLOPED ON WI TH EAGER EYES,
EXPECTING TO FIND
HIM DEAD WITHIN A MILE.
A SECOND BAIT HAD BEEN TAKEN,
AND THEN A THIRD.
BUT THOUGH I SCANNED THE BRUSH,
I SAW NOTHING THAT
LOOKED LIKE A DEAD WOLF.
AT THE FOURTH BAIT,
I DISCOVERED THAT LOBO HAD
NOT REALLY TAKEN MY BAITS AT ALL,
BUT HAD MERELY CARRIED
THEM IN HIS MOUTH.
THEN, HAVING PILED
THE THREE BAITS
ON TOP OF THE FOURTH,
HE HAD SCATTERED FILTH OVER THEM
TO EXPRESS HIS UTTER
CONTEMPT FOR MY DEVICES.
DESCRIPTIONS LIKE
THIS SEEM FAR-FETCHED.
JUST HOW CLEVER ARE WOLVES?
COULD LOBO REALLY HAVE
PLAYED A JOKE ON SETON?
SINCE SETON'S TIME,
WE'VE LEARNED A LOT
MORE ABOUT WOLF BEHAVIOR.
TODAY, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
SUPPORTS A THRIVING
POPULATION OF WILD WOLVES,
WHICH ARE CLOSELY
MONITORED BY SCIENTISTS.
WITH OVER 20 YEARS' EXPERIENCE
OF TRACKING AND STUDYING WOLVES,
DOUG SMITH IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
LEADING EXPERTS,
AND UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO
ASSESS WHAT SETON WROTE.
SETON WAS IMPUTING THESE
POWERS OF RIDICULE TO THE WOLVES
THAT REALLY ARE BEYOND THEM.
WOLVES REALLY
DON'T CARE ABOUT US.
BUT IT'S WELL KNOWN
AMONG WOLF BIOLOGISTS
THAT WHEN YOU TRAP
AND CATCH WOLVES A LOT,
THEY GET EDUCATED...
YOU TEACH THEM HOW TO
AVOID YOU CATCHING THEM.
THE WOLVES THAT WERE
LEFT WERE GETTING EDUCATED
BY THE TRAPS AND THE
GUNS AND THE POISON
THAT PEOPLE WERE
USING TO KILL THEM.
AND SO WHAT SETON
ENCOUNTERED, IN SOME WAYS,
WAS THE BEST OF THE BEST.
Abraham: SETON HAD
COME TO NEW MEXICO
AS A HIRED GUN
TO DO A DIRTY JOB,
EXPECTING TO STAY
FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
BUT LOBO CONTINUED TO ELUDE HIM.
AND AS THE WEEKS
STRETCHED INTO MONTHS,
THE UNTAMED BEAUTY OF THE LAND
BEGAN TO CAST ITS SPELL.
HE WAS FALLING IN
LOVE WITH THE WEST.
HE WAS ALSO LEARNING
OF THE OLD DAYS,
WHEN THE WILD GAME ABOUNDED
AND THE WILDERNESS
WAS UNSPOILED.
I CAN USUALLY RECKON ON
SEEING A DOZEN OR MORE
PRONGHORN ON THE PLAINS.
EVERYONE SAYS
THAT THESE BANDS ARE NOTHING
COMPARED TO THE HUGE
HERDS OF DAYS GONE BY.
THIS LAND IS VAST,
BUT BEYOND THESE HORIZONS,
AMERICA IS BUSY GROWING
LIKE AN UGLY, OVERFED BRAT...
TOO HEALTHY TO SLOWDOWN,
TOO YOUNG AND
AMBITIOUS TO CARE ABOUT
WHAT IT DESTROYS ALONG THE WAY.
IN THE CURRUMPAW,
SETON HAD PLENTY OF TIME
TO THINK ABOUT AMERICA'S
DWINDLING WILDLIFE.
ONLY A FEW YEARS EARLIER,
THERE HAD STILL BEEN
BUFFALO ON THE PLAINS.
ONE OF THE COWBOYS
SAW A SMALL HERD NOT
FAR FROM HERE IN '88 —
JUST FIVE WINTERS BACK.
THESE WOULD HAVE BEEN
THE VERY LAST SURVIVORS
IN THE ENTIRE SOUTHWEST.
FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
WOLVES HAD SURVIVED BY HUNTING
ONE OF NORTH AMERICA'S
MOST FORMIDABLE PREY SPECIES.
THEY'D PITTED THEIR WITS
AGAINST THE SHEER
SIZE AND FEROCITY
OF THE BUFFALO.
THIS REQUIRED TEAMWORK.
IT WAS LITTLE WONDER
THAT WOLVES HAD EVOLVED
INTO SUCH HIGHLY
INTELLIGENT ANIMALS,
WITH INTIMATE FAMILY BONDS.
AFTER THE BUFFALO,
A COW WAS A PIECE OF CAKE.
THE WOLF PROBLEM CLEARLY IS
SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE CREATED.
FIRST WE ANNIHILATED THE
GREAT HERDS OF BUFFALO
THAT THE WOLVES
DEPENDED ON FOR FOOD,
THEN WE FILLED THE PRAIRIES
WITH OUR DEFENSELESS CATTLE.
I'M TOLD THAT LOBO'S BAND ALONE
KILLS COW EVERYDAY.
LOBO'S PACK COULD
SLICE THROUGH LIVESTOCK
LIKE A KNIFE THROUGH BUTTER.
Smith: WOLVES PROBABLY
COULD HAVE KILLED
AS MUCH LIVESTOCK
AS SETON DESCRIBED.
THE LIVESTOCK WAS
VULNERABLE AND HELPLESS.
WE BRED THEIR NATURAL
DEFENSES OUT OF THEM.
AND WOLVES ARE INTELLIGENT,
AND THEY HAD FIGURED THAT OUT.
AND SO WOLVES HAVE
A MENTALITY, REALLY,
OF "KILL EVERYTHING YOU CAN."
Abraham: SETON
STILL HAD A JOB TO DO.
AND AFTER THE FAILURE
OF HIS POISON BAITS,
HE NOW BROUGHT
OUT A NEW WEAPON...
THE DOUBLE-SPRING
STEEL WOLF TRAP.
DARREN BROWN LIVES TODAY
JUST A FEW MILES NORTH
OF THE CURRUMPAW,
ON A RANCH WHERE SETON
IS KNOWN TO HAVE STAYED.
SOME OF SETON'S ACTUAL TRAPS
WERE LEFT HERE WITH
DARREN'S GRANDFATHER,
IN THIS VERY BARN.
NUMBER 4 1/2 WOLF TRAP.
THIS IS ONE OF THE ACTUAL
TRAPS THAT SETON USED
TO TRY TO CATCH LOBO.
Abraham: THESE
TRAPS ARE DESIGNED
TO GRAB AND HOLD THEIR VICTIMS,
RATHER THAN KILL THEM.
I'M GOING TO PUT
SOME SOFT DIRT IN HERE
SO THE TRAP WILL SET JUST RIGHT.
NOW, ALL THE TIME,
KEEP IN MIND THIS IS
A REAL TRAP... IT'D CATCH
ME AS WELL AS ANY ANIMAL.
THE WOLF WILL ACTUALLY
PUT HIS FOOT ON THIS,
IS WHAT TRIGGERS IT TO GO OFF.
NOW, I WANT TO KEEP AN OPEN AREA
UNDER THE TRAP PAN,
SO THAT WHEN THE
ANIMAL STEPS ON IT,
IT WILL ACTUALLY
SPRING THE TRAP.
IF YOU HAD DIRT UNDERNEATH
IT, IT WOULDN'T GO OFF.
IT WOULD JUST SIT THERE.
A REAL KEY ELEMENT
IS TO MAKE THIS
ABOUT AS NATURAL WITH THE
GROUND AROUND IT AS YOU CAN.
OKAY.
NOTHING EXPOSED...
NOW WE HAVE THE TRAP SET.
AND THOUGH IT'S
OVER 100 YEARS OLD,
IT STILL FUNCTIONS PERFECTLY.
IT'S JUST DESIGNED TO CATCH IT,
AND STILL GET BLOOD
CIRCULATION TO THEIR FOOT.
THIS IS ALSO HOOKED TO A DRAG.
AS IT GOES ALONG THE GROUND,
IT'LL GET CAUGHT IN
A CACTUS OR A TREE,
OR ANYTHING ALONG THE WAY...
IT SLOWS 'EM UP ENOUGH,
IT LEAVES A MARK ON THE GROUND,
AND THEN YOU CAN
FOLLOW THE ANIMAL.
DECEMBER 13...
THIS AFTERNOON I WENT
UP TO THE WEST CANYON
WI TH RANCHER BILL ALLEN,
AND WE PUT OUTA DOZEN TRAPS
ALONG ONE OF LOBO’S TRAILS,
ALWAYS TAKING CARE TO
COVER OUR SCENT AND TRACKS.
Abraham: CATCHING LOBO
WAS BECOMING AN OBSESSION.
BUT WHY WAS A MAN
WHO LOVED NATURE
SO DETERMINED TO KILL A WOLF?
IT'S A QUESTION
THAT'S OFTEN FIRED
AT SETH McFARLAND,
CURATOR OF THE SETON
MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
IN NORTHERN NEW MEXICO.
McFarland: WE GET
ASKED A LOT BY PEOPLE
WHY SETON WAS SUCH
A CONTRADICTION...
AND HE WAS A CONTRADICTION.
ON ONE HAND, HE'S AN
UNSENTIMENTAL HUNTER...
YOU KNOW, HE'S USING FIREARMS
AND JAW TRAPS AND POISONS
TO KILL HIS ANIMALS.
ON THE OTHER HAND,
HE WAS AN AVID NATURALIST,
HE'S TAKING VERY DETAILED NOTES
IN VOLUMES OF
JOURNALS, YOU KNOW.
HE'S STUDYING THESE
ANIMALS IN GREAT DETAIL,
AND HE WOULD
FOLLOW THEIR TRACKS,
HE WOULD FOLLOW THEIR SCAT.
HE COULD COMPARE THE ANIMALS
JUST ACCORDING TO THEIR SCAT,
IN WHICH DIRECTION AND
HOW OLD AN ANIMAL WAS.
HE WAS QUITE THE PARADOX.
I MEAN,
WE HAVE TO REALIZE THAT
IT WAS A DIFFERENT TIME,
AND VIEWS WERE DIFFERENT
OF WOLVES AT THAT POINT.
WE ALSO HAVE TO REALIZE
THAT SETON GREW UP
IN THE FRONTIER OF MANITOBA,
AND HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH
WOLVES DESTROYING LIVESTOCK...
HE HAD FACED THIS HIMSELF.
Abraham: SETON SIMPLY
DIDN'T SEE WOLVES
THE WAY HE SAW
OTHER WILD CREATURES.
UNLIKE WOLVES...
WHICH WERE KILLERS...
ANIMALS LIKE ELK DIDN'T
THREATEN ANYONE'S LIVELIHOOD.
ON THE CONTRARY,
LIKE THE BUFFALO
AND THE PRONGHORN,
ELK WERE NOW
THEMSELVES IN DECLINE...
THE VICTIMS OF
OVER-HUNTING BY MAN.
SETON'S LOVE AFFAIR
WITH NEW MEXICO
WAS DEEPENING BY THE DAY.
IN FACT,
HIS CONCERN FOR ALL OF
NORTH AMERICA'S WILDLIFE
WAS VERY LIKELY AWAKENING.
BUT WHEN IT CAME TO WOLVES,
SETON WAS STILL
THINKING IN THE OLD WAY.
THROUGHOUT HISTORY,
WE HAVE DEMONIZED WOLVES,
SEEN THEM AS WANTON,
BLOODTHIRSTY KILLERS...
ALMOST THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14th,
I RODE OUT TO CHECK MY TRAPS,
AND SOON CAME UPON LOBO'S TRAIL.
IN THE DUST, I COULD READ
THE WHOLE STORY OF HIS DOINGS
THE PREVIOUS NIGHT.
HE'D RUN ALONG THROUGH THE SCRUB
FOR A FEW HUNDRED YARDS,
THEN TURNED TOWARDS MY TRAPS.
BUT UPON REACHING THE FIRST ONE,
HE'D SCRATCHED UP
STONES AND EARTH
TILL IT SPRUNG THE TRAP
AND MADE IT SAFE.
CONTINUING ALONG THE TRAIL,
SETON DISCOVERED
THAT LOBO HAD DISARMED
OVER A DOZEN OF HIS
TRAPS IN THE SAME WAY.
HOW COULD HE HAVE SEEN THROUGH
SETON'S CLEVER PLAN SO EASILY?
Smith: WOLVES ARE
VERY, VERY OBSERVANT
OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
THEY PAY ATTENTION TO A DEGREE
THAT PEOPLE HAVE A
HARD TIME FATHOMING.
THEY'RE JUST EXTREMELY ATTENTIVE
TO EVERY LITTLE THING
IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
THEY KNEW SETON WAS AFTER
'EM, AND HIS OTHER COWBOYS.
AND SO THEY BECAME
VERY ATTUNED TO HIS TRICKS.
AND ONCE THEY LEARNED
ABOUT TRAPS, ABOUT STEEL,
THEY BECOME HYPER-OBSERVANT.
THAT'S ALL THEY WERE DOING.
Abraham: THE WILY WOLF HAD
OUTWITTED SETON ONCE AGAIN.
IT WAS GOING TO
BE A LONG WINTER.
WEEK AFTER WEEK,
I VARY MY METHODS
AND REDOUBLE MY PRECAUTIONS,
YET THERE IS ONLY DEFEAT
AFTER DEFEAT.
THE COWBOYS COMPLAIN BITTERLY
OF THEIR LOSSES,
AND EACH NIGHT OLD LOBO MOCKS
ME WITH HIS TRIUMPHANT HOWL.
DECEMBER 24th: WENT
IN THE AFTERNOON
TO TRAIL WOLVES,
SAW ONLY COYOTES
AND JACKRABBITS.
THE WOLVES HAVE KILLED
THREE CATTLE AND
ONE COLT— DAMN IT!
CHRISTMAS DAY, 1893:
FOUND MANY WOLF TRACKS TODAY,
BUT CAUGHT NOTHING.
JANUARY 5th: BITTERLY
COLD, BAITS UNTOUCHED...
JANUARY 13th: GOT
NOTHING, AND SAW NOTHING...
TODAY I’VE RIDDEN
WITHOUT REST OR STOP,
BETWEEN 35 AND 40 MILES.
I AM FACING TOTAL HUMILIATION.
Abraham: AFTER
MONTHS OF FAILURE,
SETON MUST HAVE
BEEN AT HIS WIT'S END.
HE HADN'T EVEN
CLAPPED EYES ON LOBO.
WHAT HE DESPERATELY
NEEDED WAS A LUCKY BREAK...
AND EVENTUALLY,
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE GOT.
I CAMPED OUT ABOVE THE CREEK,
CLOSE TO WHERE THE
SNOW GEESE AND CRANES
ARE WINTERING.
THEY SPEND THE NIGHTS
HUDDLED TOGETHER IN THE MARSH,
BEYOND THE REACH OF THE
COYOTES AND THE WOLVES.
I T WAS THE COMMOTION
OF THE GEESE
THAT LED ME TO THE
CLUE I SO BADLY NEEDED.
I RECOGNIZED LOBO'S
MARK INSTANTLY.
AND THEN NOTICED A
SECOND SET OF TRACKS,
ALWAYS, IT SEEMED,
RUNNING OUT IN FRONT.
WHEREVER THESE
SMALLER TRACKS LED,
OLD LOBO WAS SURE TO FOLLOW,
LEAPING, AND ROLLING IN THE MUD.
SUDDENLY, I REALIZED
WHAT WAS GOING ON...
THE OLD MARAUDER WAS IN LOVE.
SETON KNEW IMMEDIATELY
THAT THE SHE-WOLF
WAS HIS BIG CHANCE.
A CYNICAL NEW PLAN
FORMED IN HIS MIND.
DURING THE BREEDING SEASON,
WHICH, APPARENTLY, A LOT
OF HIS STORY TOOK PLACE,
THAT MALE'S TENDING THAT
FEMALE EXTREMELY CLOSELY.
HE RARELY LEAVES HER SIDE
DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.
I CHASE WOLVES
WITH A HELICOPTER.
IT DOESN'T HURT
THEM, WE HAVE TO DO IT,
BUT WHEN WE MOVE IN ON THEM
IT'S DURING THE MATING SEASON,
AND YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL
WHO'S THE BREEDING PAIR,
'CAUSE THEY WILL NOT SEPARATE.
AND SO THEY'RE MOVING AROUND
IN THEIR OWN
LITTLE ORBIT OF TWO.
AND THE REST OF
THE PACK BREAKS UP
AND GOES EVERY WHICH WAY.
THAT MALE WOLF, THE ALPHA MALE,
STICKS RIGHT WITH THAT FEMALE.
I SOON LEARNED MORE
ABOUT LOBO'S MATE
FROM THE SHEPHERDS.
THEY CALL HER "BLANCA"
BECAUSE OF HER WHITE COAT,
AND THEY SAY SHE LEADS
LOBO A MERRY DANCE.
THIS TALLIES WITH THE
TRACKS I SAW AT THE CREEK,
AND HAS SUGGESTED
A WAY TO CATCH HER.
Abraham: CUNNINGLY,
SETON FIRST PLACED
TRAPS RATHER OBVIOUSLY
AROUND A DEAD COW,
GUESSING THAT LOBO WOULD
STOP AND TRY TO DISARM THEM.
WHILE HE WAS THUS DIVERTED,
SETON HOPED THAT LOBO'S MATE,
BLANCA, WOULD RUN
ON TO INVESTIGATE
THE HEAD OF THE COW,
WHICH SETON HAD CUT OFF
AND PUT TO ONE SIDE.
IT COULD ONLY BE APPROACHED
THROUGH A NARROW
PASSAGE BETWEEN ROCKS,
AND IT WAS HERE
THAT SETON PLANTED
SEVERAL OF HIS BEST TRAPS,
PROPERLY DEODORIZED,
AND CONCEALED
WITH THE UTMOST CARE.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24th:
THIS EVENING I AM MORE EXCITED,
AND YET MORE ANXIOUS,
THAN I HAVE BEEN IN
THREE LONG MONTHS.
TRY AS I MIGHT, I
CANNOT GET TO SLEEP.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING,
SETON WENT UP THE CAN YON
HOPING THAT, AT LAST,
HE'D STRUCK A BLOW
AGAINST LOBO.
HE WAS IN LUCK.
BLANCA HAD WALKED
RIGHT INTO HIS TRAP.
ACCORDING TO SETON,
LOBO REMAINED CLOSE BY,
RELUCTANT TO LEAVE HIS MATE.
BUT IT WOULD HAVE
BEEN SUICIDE TO STAY
AND FACE THE MEN'S GUNS.
SETON WOULD LATER
RECOIL FROM WHAT HE CALLED
"THE INEVITABLE
TRAGEDY THAT FOLLOWED."
BUT THE PLAIN FACT WAS,
HE WAS HERE TO DO A JOB...
HE WAS HERE TO KILL WOLVES.
SUCCESS AT LAST.
SETON HAD CLAIMED
HIS FIRST SCALP.
AND YET NOW, WITH BLANCA DEAD,
LOBO WAS ABOUT TO
TOUCH SETON'S HEART...
AND CHANGE, FOREVER,
THE WAY HE SAW WOLVES.
THE KING OF THE CURRUMPAW
HAD LOST HIS MATE.
TONIGHT I HEARD
LOBO UP IN THE CANYON.
AND THERE WAS AN UNMISTAKABLE
NOTE OF SORROW IN HIS VOICE.
IT WAS NO LONGER THE
LOUD, DEFIANT HOWL
I HAD HEARD SO OFTEN,
BUT A LONG, PLAINTIVE WAIL.
"BLANCA!" HE SEEMED TO CALL.
I T WAS SADDER THAN I COULD
POSSIBLY HAVE IMAGINED.
Smith: I THINK THERE IS AN
EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT
BETWEEN WOLVES IN A PACK...
CERTAINLY AMONG A MATED PAIR,
AND THE EXAMPLE I USE
IS, HERE IN YELLOWSTONE,
A WOLF DIED... A FEMALE WOLF...
SHE WAS THE ALPHA,
VERY SIMILAR TO BLANCA.
SHE WAS KILLED BY ANOTHER PACK,
AND THE ALPHA MALE...
PARDON MY WAY OF PUTTING IT...
SEEMED TO MOURN.
HE HOWLED FOR TWO DAYS AFTER,
MORE THEN ANYBODY
HAD SEEN HIM HOWL.
AND HE WAILED, AND HE
WAILED, AND HE WAILED.
A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT
SETON DESCRIBED IN HIS STORY,
WE'VE SEEN HERE IN THE
WILDS OF YELLOWSTONE.
Abraham: SETON HAD
BROUGHT BLANCA'S BODY
BACK TO HIS CABIN.
BUT THE LAST THING HE EXPECTED
WAS FOR LOBO TO THROW
CAUTION TO THE WIND,
AND COME LOOKING FOR HER.
NOT ONCE HAS HE SHOWN
HIMSELF IN ALL THE MONTHS
I'VE PURSUED HIM,
YET NOW HE SCORNS HIS OWN SAFETY
TO FIND HIS BELOVED BLANCA.
WE CAN ONLY GUESS WHAT DOUBTS
WERE CREEPING INTO SETON'S MIND,
BUT IT WAS TOO LATE TO STOP NOW.
SETON HAD TO STRIKE FAST,
WHILE LOBO'S GUARD WAS DOWN.
HE GATHERED UP ALL
HIS TRAPS... 130 IN ALL,
AND SET THEM ON EVERY
APPROACH TO HIS CABIN.
LAST OF ALL, HE
USED BLANCA'S SCENT
AS A LURE TO DRAW LOBO IN.
SETON SET OUT THE NEXT
MORNING WITH CONFIDENCE.
EVERY OUTLAW TALE
HAS ITS SHOWDOWN,
AND FOR SETON AND
LOBO, THE FATEFUL DAY
WAS JANUARY 31st, 1894.
HIS PLAN HAD WORKED.
THE FIRST THING SETON DID
WAS TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH.
IT'S AN ASTONISHING RECORD
THAT SURVIVES TO THIS DAY.
OLD LOBO, THE KING
OF THE CURRUMPAW,
IS CLEARLY VISIBLE
CAUGHT IN FOUR TRAPS...
ONE ON EACH LEG.
THAT'S WHAT IT HAD TAKEN
TO STOP THIS INCREDIBLE WOLF.
WHERE ARE YOU GUESSING
THIS... IS THIS A LITTLE RIDGE,
OR ARE YOU GUESSING
THIS IS GRASS RIGHT THERE?
I'M ASSUMING THAT
MAY JUST BE A ROAD.
Abraham: SETON'S JOURNAL
RECORDS THE DATE THAT LOBO
WAS FINALLY CAPTURED,
BUT THE EXACT LOCATION
IS UNCERTAIN.
CURATOR SETH McFARLAND
IS VISITING RANCHER MARGIE LONG,
IN THE HOPE THAT
SETON'S PHOTOGRAPH
CAN LEAD HIM TO THE PLACE
WHERE LOBO WAS TRAPPED.
Long: YOU CAN SEE THESE
BIG SQUARE HUNKS OF ROCK,
SO IT MAY BE THAT THIS ANGLE
IS MORE OVER TOWARDS THE BARN.
THESE HILLS ARE SO BARE,
THEY PROBABLY CLEANED
ALL THAT WOOD OFF
FOR FENCE POSTS AND FUEL WOOD.
YES, THEY SAY THAT THE
BRUSH HAS REALLY GROWN BACK
OVER THE YEARS, AND
LOOKING AT OLDER PICTURES,
THERE WERE NO TREES AND,
YOU KNOW, CEDARS AND SHRUBS.
I THINK WE'VE GOT THE SPOT.
SEE, HE'S GOT THE
FOUR TRAPS ON HIM,
WELL, THERE'S ONE,
DEFINITELY, ON HIS BACK LEG,
THERE'S ONE RIGHT
THERE, AND THERE'S A THIRD.
I DON'T KNOW — I
KNOW, IN THE STORY,
IT TALKS ABOUT HOW
HE HAD ONE POP FREE,
AND THAT LEG SEEMED TO
BE TUCKED BACK UNDER HIM.
NOW, WHAT ARE THE
FAMILY TRADITIONS?
DOES THE STORY DIFFER AN Y,
OR IS IT PRETTY
MUCH THE SAME TALE?
NO, I KEEP HEARING
THE SAME STORY,
AND IT WAS JUST RIGHT OUT
HERE IN FRONT OF THE CHICKEN PEN.
AND THAT HE WAS TRAPPED,
BECAUSE THEY HAD
HIS MATE CAUGHT,
AND HE CAME IN TO HER
AND THEY CAUGHT HIM.
AND I'VE JUST HEARD THE
SAME STORY OVER AND OVER
FROM THE OLD TIMERS
AROUND, UH-HUH.
♪♪
Abraham: SETON HAD WON.
AFTER THE LONG CHASE,
HE FINALLY HAD LOBO
AT HIS MERCY.
BUT FACE-TO-FACE
WITH HIS ADVERSARY,
SETON'S RESOLVE FALTERED.
PERHAPS KILLING LOBO NO
LONGER FELT LIKE A VICTORY,
BUT A CRIME.
PERHAPS, IN HIS EYES,
LOBO WAS NO LONGER "VERMIN,"
BUT A CREATURE WITH DIGNITY...
COURAGEOUS, LOYAL, AND LOVING.
UNTIL NOW, SETON HAD SEEN WOLVES
SIMPLY AS
INDISCRIMINATE KILLERS,
BUT THEY WERE OBVIOUSLY
MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
THEY WERE THE VERY EMBODIMENT
OF AMERICA'S
VANISHING WILDERNESS.
IT'S AS IF THE CONFLICT
WITHIN SETON...
BETWEEN THE HUNTER
AND THE NATURALIST...
WAS FINALLY RESOLVED.
HE DECIDED TO TAKE
LOBO BACK ALIVE.
SADLY, IT WAS TOO LATE.
LOBO MADE
NO RESISTANCE TO ME.
HE NEVER ONCE LOOKED AT ME.
BUT ACTED AS THOUGH HE
WAS ALONE ON THE PLAINS.
HIS EYES WERE FIXED ON
THE FAR ROLLING MESAS,
HIS PASSING KINGDOM,
WHERE HIS FAMOUS BAND
WAS NOW SCATTERED.
WHEN THE SUN WENT DOWN,
HE WAS STILL GAZING
OUT ACROSS THE PRAIRIE,
BUT WI THIN A FEW HOURS,
THE OLD KING WOLF WAS DEAD.
WE KNOW THAT AN EAGLE
ROBBED OF HIS FREEDOM,
A LION SHORN OF HIS STRENGTH,
A DOVE BEREFT OF HIS MATE,
ALL DIE, I T IS SAID,
OF A BROKEN HEART.
AND SO I T WAS WI TH OLD LOBO,
THE KING OF THE CURRUMPAW.
Abraham: IT WAS LOBO'S
LOYALTY TO BLANCA
THAT HAD BEEN HIS DOWN FALL,
AND NOW SETON TOOK
LOBO TO BE WITH HER AGAIN.
SETON PROFOUNDLY
REGRETTED WHAT HE HAD DONE.
HE NEVER KILLED ANOTHER WOLF.
Smith: WHEN I READ
SETON'S STORY,
TO A CERTAIN DEGREE
I FILTERED THROUGH
A LOT OF HIS FLOWERY LANGUAGE.
I LOOKED AT IT THROUGH
A BIOLOGICAL LENS.
IS WHAT THESE WOLVES WERE DOING,
GIVEN THE CONTEXT OF THE TIME,
WHICH WAS NO-TO-LITTLE
NATURAL PREY,
A LASER FOCUS ON
KILLING LIVESTOCK,
AN INCREDIBLE ABILITY TO AVOID
TRAPS AND GUNS AND POISONS,
IS ALL THAT POSSIBLE?
ABSOLUTELY.
DO WOLVES HAVE AN
INCREDIBLY STRONG ATTACHMENT
BETWEEN A MATED
PAIR? ABSOLUTELY.
Abraham: LOBO, THE LAST
OUTLAW WOLF OF NEW MEXICO,
WAS DEAD.
THE CURRUMPAW VALLEY
HAD BEEN SILENCED.
BY 1894, IT SEEMED THAT
VIRTUALLY ALL OF
AMERICA'S WILDERNESS
WAS DESTINED TO BE CLEANED-UP,
CIVILIZED, AND MADE SAFE.
SETON HAD COME HERE
IN THE TWILIGHT YEARS
OF THE WILD WEST,
AND HE HAD PLAYED HIS
PART IN ITS DESTRUCTION.
BUT THIS WAS NOT THE END
OF LOBO'S IMPACT ON
THE WORLD OF MEN...
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT...
TO SETON, AND TO THE
STORY HE WROTE ABOUT LOBO,
WOULD HAVE A PROFOUND
EFFECT ON THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN AMERICANS
AND THEIR WILDERNESS.
SETON HEADED EAST,
DEEPLY AFFECTED BY
HIS WESTERN ADVENTURE
AND DETERMINED TO
RECORD WHAT HAD HAPPENED.
IN THE STORY HE WROTE,
HE BOLDLY CAST
HIMSELF AS THE VILLAIN...
AND THE WOLF AS THE HERO.
HIS BOOK, "WILD
ANIMALS I HAVE KNOWN,"
WAS AN IMMEDIATE WORLDWIDE HIT.
VIRTUALLY OVERNIGHT,
IT PROPELLED SETON FROM
A LITTLE-KNOWN NATURALIST
INTO A MAJOR CELEBRITY.
BUT WHAT REALLY
MATTERED TO SETON NOW
WAS SAVING AMERICA’S WILDERNESS
BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE.
HISTORIAN DAVID WITT
THINKS THE TURNING POINT
CAN BE TRACED BACK
TO A SINGLE WORD
IN SETON'S JOURNAL.
Witt: HE HAS THIS LAST
WORD IN THE ENTRY... "WHY?"
AND IT'S A VERY BIG "WHY,"
IT WAS EVEN WRITTEN
IN LARGE LETTERS.
MAYBE HE WAS PUTTING
DOWN THAT "WHY"
ASKING "WHY DID THE ANIMAL DIE?"
BECAUSE HE FOLLOWS-UP
WITH A COUPLE OF NOTES
ABOUT THE PHYSICAL
CONDITION OF THE ANIMAL.
BUT I THINK THAT THE "WHY"
WAS MUCH BIGGER THAN THAT.
IT REALLY WAS A "WHY" ASKING,
"WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
"WHAT IS OUR
RELATIONSHIP TO NATURE,
WHY ARE WE
DESTROYING IT LIKE THIS?"
Abraham: AT A TIME WHEN
FEW PEOPLE QUESTIONED
THE DESTRUCTION OF NATURE,
SETON SPOKE UP
FOR THE WILDERNESS.
HIS VIEWS ABOUT THE
VALUE OF THE WILD
FOUND FAVOR WITH POLITICIANS
LIKE TEDDY ROOSEVELT,
AND HELPED TO TURN THE
TIDE OF PUBLIC OPINION.
SETON USED HIS INFLUENCE
TO PUSH FOR THE CREATION
OF MORE NATIONAL PARKS.
THOUSANDS OF ORDINARY AMERICANS
BECAME AWARE OF THEIR
SPECTACULAR NATURAL HERITAGE.
Witt: SO SETON
TOOK A LEADING ROLE
IN WHAT BECAME THE
CONSERVATION MOVEMENT,
AND EVENTUALLY THE
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT.
HE WAS TALKING ABOUT
OUR RELATIONSHIP
NOT ONLY TO ANIMALS,
BUT TO ALL OF NATURE...
HE WAS DOING IT IN A
VERY ECOLOGICAL WAY,
HE WAS CERTAINLY ONE
OF THE FIRST ECOLOGISTS.
Abraham: SETON ALSO LOBBIED
FOR HUNTING RESTRICTIONS
AND ANTI-POACHING MEASURES,
AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL
IN PUSHING THROUGH
RADICAL NEW LAWS TO
PROTECT MIGRATING BIRDS.
HE DID LOBBY FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION,
INCLUDING THE FIRST
WILDLIFE LEGISLATION
THAT PROTECTED
MIGRATORY ANIMALS.
AND BECAUSE OF SETON,
THEY LOBBIED CONGRESS
AND EXPANDED
GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY
TO THE INTERSTATE
CONTROL OF WILDLIFE.
IT WAS A MAJOR INCREASE IN
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY,
AND IT LAID THE GROUNDWORK
FOR EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION
THAT HAS COME AFTER THAT TIME.
Abraham: AND IT
WASN'T JUST A QUESTION
OF SAVING THE WILDERNESS...
SETON FELT THAT PEOPLE
HAD TO EXPERIENCE IT
IN ORDER TO CARE ABOUT IT,
THAT IT SHOULD BE A PART
OF EVERYONE'S UPBRINGING.
INSPIRED BY THE VALUES OF
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE,
HE FOUNDED THE
"WOODCRAFT INDIANS,"
AN ORGANIZATION
THAT TAUGHT CHILDREN
MAN Y OF THE SKILLS
NEEDED FOR OUTDOOR LIFE,
ALONG WITH A RESPECT FOR NATURE.
MAN Y OF THESE IDEAS
WERE LATER ADOPTED
FOR THE BASIS FOR THE
BOY SCOUTS IN ENGLAND,
AND SETON HIMSELF
WAS A FOUNDING FATHER
OF THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA.
BY THE EARLY YEARS
OF THE 20th CENTURY,
THE UNITED STATES LED THE WORLD
IN THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE,
AND TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN
WERE HEADING OFF
TO CAMP IN THE WOODS
AND THE MOUNTAINS.
SETON HAD BEEN A PRIME
MOVER IN ALL OF THIS,
AND IT HAD ALL STARTED
BACK IN THE CURRUMPAW,
IN THE AUTUMN OF 1893,
WHEN HE'D SET OUT TO
KILL AN OUTLAW WOLF
CALLED "LOBO."
BUT WHAT ABOUT WOLVES?
WAS THE NEW
NATURE-LOVING AMERICA
READY TO EMBRACE ITS OLD ENEMY?
FOR DECADES,
SETON WAS VIRTUALLY ALONE
IN HIS DESIRE TO PROTECT WOLVES
ALONGSIDE THE
OTHER WILD ANIMALS.
IT HAS TAKEN A LONG TIME
FOR THE REST OF
AMERICA TO CATCH UP.
AS HEAD OF THE WOLF RECOVERY
PROGRAM IN YELLOWSTONE,
DOUG SMITH SEES HIS JOB
AS TRYING TO COMPLETE
WHAT SETON BEGAN.
Smith: THE CHANGE
OF HEART TO WOLVES
HAS ONLY BEEN GOING
FOR ABOUT 30 OR 40 YEARS...
I MEAN, LITERALLY,
IN THE UNITED STATES,
INTO THE 1960s,
MOST PEOPLE STILL
THOUGHT WOLVES WERE BAD.
AND I THINK WHAT WE
HAD WAS AN AWAKENING
TO A NEW ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT,
AND THAT KILLING ALL
THESE PREDATORS...
WOLVES AND OTHER CARNIVORES...
WITHOUT QUESTION, FOR SO LONG,
I THINK THE LIGHT BULB WENT
ON IN PEOPLE'S HEADS AS, "WHY?"
BUT I NEED TO BE VERY CLEAR...
THERE IS STILL A LARGE
GROUP OF PEOPLE
WHO RETAIN THE
OLD VIEW OF WOLVES.
I KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE
COME UP TO ME AND SAID,
"MY GRANDFATHER
"KILLED OFF THIS ANIMAL
TO MAKE LIFE HERE EASIER,
AND YOU'RE BRINGING IT BACK."
SO ATTITUDES HAVE CHANGED,
BUT THE OLD
ATTITUDE STILL EXISTS.
AND SO NOW WE'RE AT THIS VERY
POLARIZED BASHING OF HEADS
ABOUT HOW TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD.
BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE
FEEL PREDATORS LIKE WOLVES
HAVE NO PLACE, STILL...
AS MANY PEOPLE
FELT IN SETON'S TIME.
BUT OTHERS ARE SAYING,
"HEY, WE MADE A MISTAKE,
AND WE NEED TO
BRING WOLVES BACK."
SETON HAS HAD A
TREMENDOUS IMPACT
ON WHERE WE ARE TODAY
IN TERMS OF RESPECTING NATURE.
AND I THINK ENOUGH PEOPLE...
AT LEAST IN NORTH AMERICA...
CANADIANS AND AMERICANS,
RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE MAYBE
OVERSTRETCHED OUR REACH,
IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'VE TAKEN.
Abraham: SETON'S
PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION,
FROM WOLF-KILLER
TO WOLF-PROTECTOR,
WAS THE BEGINNING OF
SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER...
IT SET THE COURSE
FOR A TOTALLY
FRESH UNDERSTANDING
OF THE NATURE OF WOLVES.
AND IT HELPED PAVE THE WAY
FOR THE RETURN OF WOLVES
AND OTHER PREDATORS
TO THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE
AT THE HEART OF THE WILD.
THE DUEL BETWEEN SETON AND
LOBO MAY HAVE LED TO SAD DEATHS,
BUT ULTIMATELY, IT ALSO
BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO
AMERICANS' APPRECIATION
OF THEIR WILDERNESS.
IN LATER LIFE, SETON RETURNED
TO LIVE IN HIS BELOVED NEW MEXICO.
I HAVE BEEN MUCH CRITICIZED...
FIRSTLY, FOR KILLING
BLANCA AND LOBO,
BUT CHIEFLY FOR TELLING OF IT,
TO THE DISTRESS OF
MANY TENDER HEARTS.
TO THIS I REPLY:
IN WHAT FRAME OF MIND
ARE MY READERS LEFT
WI TH REGARD TO THE WOLF?
ARE THEIR SYMPATHIES QUICKENED
TOWARD THE MAN WHO KILLED HIM?
OR TOWARD THE NOBLE
CREATURE WHO DIED AS HE LIVED...
DIGNIFIED, FEARLESS,
AND STEADFAST?
Abraham: RIGHT UP
TO HIS DEATH IN 1946,
SETON CONTINUED TO REFLECT
ON THE WOLF THAT
CHANGED HIS LIFE.
EVER SINCE LOBO,
MY SINCEREST WISH
HAS BEEN TO IMPRESS UPON PEOPLE
THAT EACH OF OUR NATIVE
WILD CREATURES IS IN ITSELF
A PRECIOUS HERITAGE THAT
WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO DESTROY
OR PUT BEYOND THE
REACH OF OUR CHILDREN.
WEST TO HUNT WOLVES
WAS AN IMPULSE THING.
I NEVER IMAGINED I T
WOULD CHANGE MY LIFE.
Narrator: IN THE AUTUMN OF 1893,
A MAN CALLED ERNEST
THOMPSON SETON
CAME TO NEW MEXICO.
THESE WERE THE DYING DAYS
OF THE OLD WILD WEST,
AND SETON'S MISSION
WAS TO HUNT DOWN THE
LAST OF THE OUTLAWS...
THE OUTLAW WOLVES.
BUT WHAT BEGAN AS A TWO-WEEK
JOB TURNED INTO AN EPIC DUEL.
A DUEL THAT WOULD
TOUCH SETON'S HEART.
AND ONE WHICH, IN THE END,
HELPED TO CHANGE FOREVER
AMERICA'S RELATIONSHIP
WITH ITS WILDERNESS.
AND IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF
ONE REMARKABLE ANIMAL.
Abraham: THE STAGE FOR THE
DRAMA COULD HARDLY BE WIDER,
OR MORE EPIC.
"NEW MEXICO"...
A LAND WHERE THE
ROLLING PRAIRIES
MEET THE FOOTHILLS
OF THE ROCKIES.
BY 1893...
THE YEAR SETON CAME
TO HUNT WOLVES...
THIS WAS A LAND BEING
SWEPT BY PROFOUND CHANGE.
THE MODERN WORLD
WAS STEAMING IN.
SETTLERS WERE ARRIVING
BY THE TRAINLOAD.
WHAT HAD RECENTLY BEEN THE
LAND OF THE APACHE AND THE BUFFALO
WAS NOW THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY.
LIVESTOCK WERE POURING IN.
RANCHING WAS BIG BUSINESS.
BUT THE OLD WEST HADN'T
COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED.
PARTS OF NORTHERN NEW
MEXICO WERE STILL UNTAMED.
IN THE REMOTE CURRUMPAW VALLEY,
WILD WOLVES STILL
ROAMED THE CANYONS.
A VICIOUS WAR
WAS UNDERWAY
TO EXTERMINATE THE LAST
OF THESE CATTLE-KILLERS.
ONE OF THESE WOLVES, HOWEVER,
SEEMED TO POSSESS AN
ALMOST SUPERNATURAL ABILITY
TO CHEAT DEATH.
SETON SOON HEARD ABOUT THIS
"SUPERWOLF" FROM THE COWBOYS.
HE WAS KNOWN AS "LOBO"...
KING OF THE CURRUMPAW.
LOBO AND HIS BAND OF OUTLAWS
WERE BLAMED FOR KILLING
HUNDREDS OF CATTLE...
AND NOT SURPRISINGLY,
THE CATTLE BARONS
AND THEIR COWBOYS
WANTED HIM DEAD.
IN MANY WAYS, SETON
WAS THE PERFECT ASSASSIN.
HE'D HUNTED WOLVES FOR
BOUNTY MONEY BEFORE,
AND WRITTEN A MANUAL
FOR HIS FELLOW TRAPPERS
ON HOW TO CATCH THEM.
HE EVEN CLAIMED THAT ONE
OF HIS SCOTTISH ANCESTORS
HAD WIPED OUT THE LAST REMAINING
WOLVES IN THE BRITISH ISLES.
BUT BEHIND THE GUN LAY A
MORE COMPLEX CHARACTER.
SETON WAS A NATURALIST
WHO'D GROWN UP IN THE
BACK WOODS OF CANADA
WITH A REAL LOVE AND
FASCINATION FOR NATURE.
HE WAS ALSO AN ARTIST,
TRAINED IN PARIS AND LONDON,
WHOSE FAVORITE SUBJECTS
WERE THE WILD ANIMALS
OF NORTH AMERICA.
THE STORY OF THE HUNT FOR LOBO
IS THE STORY OF A DIVIDED MAN.
ON THE ONE HAND, A ROMANTIC,
WHOSE HEART WAS
WITH THE WILDERNESS
AND ITS WILD CREATURES.
AND ON THE OTHER...
AND HIRED HUNTER, WHO,
LIKE THE COWBOYS,
SAW WOLVES AS SOMEHOW
DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER ANIMALS...
AS WANTON KILLERS THAT
HAD TO BE DEALT WITH.
Man as Ernest Seton: I AM TO
GET BOARD AND LODGING,
ALL EXPENSES, AND BOUNTY MONIES,
IN EXCHANGE FOR WHICH
I SHALL RID THE COWBOYS
OF THEIR DEMON WOLF.
I THINK TWO WEEKS SHOULD
BE ENOUGH TO CATCH THE PEST.
Abraham: LITTLE DID SETON
KNOW THE REMARKABLE WOLF
HE WAS UP AGAINST...
THE WILD AND ROMANTIC
STORY THAT FOLLOWS
IS BASED ENTIRELY ON THE JOURNAL
THAT SETON KEPT AT THE TIME,
AND THE BOOK HE
SUBSEQUENTLY WROTE.
IT IS, ACCORDING TO SETON,
"ALMOST COMPLETELY TRUE."
"THE ANIMALS," HE LATER WROTE,
"WERE REAL CHARACTERS,
WHO LIVED THE LIVES
I HAVE DEPICTED."
AND YET, SETON MADE
SUCH SURPRISING,
ALMOST HEROIC CLAIMS
ABOUT LOBO AND HIS PACK
THAT WE ARE BOUND TO WONDER
HOW MUCH OF IT WE
CAN REALLY BELIEVE.
A DREAD
OF THIS "LOBO" HAS SPREAD
AMONG THE RANCHMEN.
AND NOW THE PRICE
SET ON HIS HEAD IS $1,000—
A RECORD BOUNTY FOR A WOLF.
HE IS MY NUMBER-ONE TARGET.
SETON HAD COME TO NEW MEXICO
EQUIPPED TO WAGE
A POISON CAMPAIGN...
A TRIED AND TESTED METHOD
FROM HIS WOLF-HUNTING
DAYS IN CANADA.
A PIECE OF MEAT LACED WI TH
A FEW DROPS OF STRYCHNINE
MAKES A GOOD WOLF BAIT.
THE POISON CAUSES
VIOLENT SPASMS,
AND THE VICTIM SOON
DIES OF ASPHYXIATION.
BUT IT'S CRUCIAL
THAT THE BAIT IS FREE
FROM THE TAINT OF METAL,
OR ANY TRACE OF HUMAN SCENT,
OR THE WOLF WILL GET
SUSPICIOUS AND AVOID I T.
IT WAS LATE OCTOBER.
SETON SET OUT TO
LAY HIS FIRST BAITS.
OVER THE FOLLOWING DAYS,
HE MADE A SERIES OF WIDE
CIRCUITS AROUND THE PLAINS,
DROPPING A PIECE OF PIECE OF
POISONED MEAT EVERY SO OFTEN,
TAKING CARE NOT TO TOUCH THEM
WITH HIS HANDS, OR
TO GET OF F HIS HORSE.
SETON, THE MAN WHO'D
WRITTEN THE TEXTBOOK
ON HOW TO CATCH A WOLF,
WAS CONFIDENT THAT HIS
EXPERTLY PREPARED BAITS
WOULD SOON BRING HIM HIS
THOUSAND-DOLLAR BOUNTY.
ALONGSIDE HIS HUNT FOR LOBO,
SETON ALSO PURSUED
HIS LOVE OF NATURE,
TAKING EVERY CHANCE TO LEARN
MORE ABOUT THE WILD INHABITANTS
OF THE CURRUMPAW.
AT FIRST, THIS PLACE
SEEMED UNINVITING...
COMPARED TO THE LUSH PRAIRIES
OF MANI TOBA.
BUT THE MORE I EXPLORE,
THE MORE I REALIZE
IT'S A PARADISE.
EVERY SPINY BUSH
IS TEEMING WI TH LIFE.
AND EVERY DAY I MAKE NEW FRIENDS
AND LEARN NEW FACTS.
I WAS AMAZED TO SEE
THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN
STILL DANCING IN THE FALL,
SO LONG AFTER THEIR
COURTSHIP SEASON.
PROVIDED THEY'RE FAT AND FIT,
THEY SEEM TO LIKE NOTHING BETTER
THAN A SHIMMY.
THEY SHARE THE PLAINS WI
TH HUNDREDS OF PRAIRIE DOGS.
AND AS FAR AS I CAN SEE,
THESE LITTLE YAP-RATS
NEVER GO MORE THAN
100 YARDS FROM HOME.
EVERY BURROW IS A PLUNGE HOLE...
A SHEER DROP FOR RAPID ESCAPE.
SETON THE NATURALIST
MAY HAVE BEEN CRAMMING HIS
NOTEBOOKS WITH OBSERVATIONS,
BUT HIS HUNT FOR LOBO WAS ABOUT
TO SUFFER A HUMILIATING SETBACK.
NOVEMBER THIRD —
I SET OUT IN THE AFTERNOON
TO CHECK MY BAITS,
AND SOON PICKED UP
LOBO'S TRACKS.
HIS MONSTROUS PAW
PRINT IS UNMISTAKABLE.
IT MEASURES OVER FIVE INCHES
FROM CLAW TO HEEL,
WHICH MUST PUT HIM
AT AROUND 150 POUNDS.
FURTHER AHEAD,
I FOUND THAT LOBO HAD
COME TO ONE OF MY BAITS,
SNIFFED AT I T, AND
THEN PICKED IT UP.
I GALLOPED ON WI TH EAGER EYES,
EXPECTING TO FIND
HIM DEAD WITHIN A MILE.
A SECOND BAIT HAD BEEN TAKEN,
AND THEN A THIRD.
BUT THOUGH I SCANNED THE BRUSH,
I SAW NOTHING THAT
LOOKED LIKE A DEAD WOLF.
AT THE FOURTH BAIT,
I DISCOVERED THAT LOBO HAD
NOT REALLY TAKEN MY BAITS AT ALL,
BUT HAD MERELY CARRIED
THEM IN HIS MOUTH.
THEN, HAVING PILED
THE THREE BAITS
ON TOP OF THE FOURTH,
HE HAD SCATTERED FILTH OVER THEM
TO EXPRESS HIS UTTER
CONTEMPT FOR MY DEVICES.
DESCRIPTIONS LIKE
THIS SEEM FAR-FETCHED.
JUST HOW CLEVER ARE WOLVES?
COULD LOBO REALLY HAVE
PLAYED A JOKE ON SETON?
SINCE SETON'S TIME,
WE'VE LEARNED A LOT
MORE ABOUT WOLF BEHAVIOR.
TODAY, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
SUPPORTS A THRIVING
POPULATION OF WILD WOLVES,
WHICH ARE CLOSELY
MONITORED BY SCIENTISTS.
WITH OVER 20 YEARS' EXPERIENCE
OF TRACKING AND STUDYING WOLVES,
DOUG SMITH IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
LEADING EXPERTS,
AND UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO
ASSESS WHAT SETON WROTE.
SETON WAS IMPUTING THESE
POWERS OF RIDICULE TO THE WOLVES
THAT REALLY ARE BEYOND THEM.
WOLVES REALLY
DON'T CARE ABOUT US.
BUT IT'S WELL KNOWN
AMONG WOLF BIOLOGISTS
THAT WHEN YOU TRAP
AND CATCH WOLVES A LOT,
THEY GET EDUCATED...
YOU TEACH THEM HOW TO
AVOID YOU CATCHING THEM.
THE WOLVES THAT WERE
LEFT WERE GETTING EDUCATED
BY THE TRAPS AND THE
GUNS AND THE POISON
THAT PEOPLE WERE
USING TO KILL THEM.
AND SO WHAT SETON
ENCOUNTERED, IN SOME WAYS,
WAS THE BEST OF THE BEST.
Abraham: SETON HAD
COME TO NEW MEXICO
AS A HIRED GUN
TO DO A DIRTY JOB,
EXPECTING TO STAY
FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
BUT LOBO CONTINUED TO ELUDE HIM.
AND AS THE WEEKS
STRETCHED INTO MONTHS,
THE UNTAMED BEAUTY OF THE LAND
BEGAN TO CAST ITS SPELL.
HE WAS FALLING IN
LOVE WITH THE WEST.
HE WAS ALSO LEARNING
OF THE OLD DAYS,
WHEN THE WILD GAME ABOUNDED
AND THE WILDERNESS
WAS UNSPOILED.
I CAN USUALLY RECKON ON
SEEING A DOZEN OR MORE
PRONGHORN ON THE PLAINS.
EVERYONE SAYS
THAT THESE BANDS ARE NOTHING
COMPARED TO THE HUGE
HERDS OF DAYS GONE BY.
THIS LAND IS VAST,
BUT BEYOND THESE HORIZONS,
AMERICA IS BUSY GROWING
LIKE AN UGLY, OVERFED BRAT...
TOO HEALTHY TO SLOWDOWN,
TOO YOUNG AND
AMBITIOUS TO CARE ABOUT
WHAT IT DESTROYS ALONG THE WAY.
IN THE CURRUMPAW,
SETON HAD PLENTY OF TIME
TO THINK ABOUT AMERICA'S
DWINDLING WILDLIFE.
ONLY A FEW YEARS EARLIER,
THERE HAD STILL BEEN
BUFFALO ON THE PLAINS.
ONE OF THE COWBOYS
SAW A SMALL HERD NOT
FAR FROM HERE IN '88 —
JUST FIVE WINTERS BACK.
THESE WOULD HAVE BEEN
THE VERY LAST SURVIVORS
IN THE ENTIRE SOUTHWEST.
FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
WOLVES HAD SURVIVED BY HUNTING
ONE OF NORTH AMERICA'S
MOST FORMIDABLE PREY SPECIES.
THEY'D PITTED THEIR WITS
AGAINST THE SHEER
SIZE AND FEROCITY
OF THE BUFFALO.
THIS REQUIRED TEAMWORK.
IT WAS LITTLE WONDER
THAT WOLVES HAD EVOLVED
INTO SUCH HIGHLY
INTELLIGENT ANIMALS,
WITH INTIMATE FAMILY BONDS.
AFTER THE BUFFALO,
A COW WAS A PIECE OF CAKE.
THE WOLF PROBLEM CLEARLY IS
SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE CREATED.
FIRST WE ANNIHILATED THE
GREAT HERDS OF BUFFALO
THAT THE WOLVES
DEPENDED ON FOR FOOD,
THEN WE FILLED THE PRAIRIES
WITH OUR DEFENSELESS CATTLE.
I'M TOLD THAT LOBO'S BAND ALONE
KILLS COW EVERYDAY.
LOBO'S PACK COULD
SLICE THROUGH LIVESTOCK
LIKE A KNIFE THROUGH BUTTER.
Smith: WOLVES PROBABLY
COULD HAVE KILLED
AS MUCH LIVESTOCK
AS SETON DESCRIBED.
THE LIVESTOCK WAS
VULNERABLE AND HELPLESS.
WE BRED THEIR NATURAL
DEFENSES OUT OF THEM.
AND WOLVES ARE INTELLIGENT,
AND THEY HAD FIGURED THAT OUT.
AND SO WOLVES HAVE
A MENTALITY, REALLY,
OF "KILL EVERYTHING YOU CAN."
Abraham: SETON
STILL HAD A JOB TO DO.
AND AFTER THE FAILURE
OF HIS POISON BAITS,
HE NOW BROUGHT
OUT A NEW WEAPON...
THE DOUBLE-SPRING
STEEL WOLF TRAP.
DARREN BROWN LIVES TODAY
JUST A FEW MILES NORTH
OF THE CURRUMPAW,
ON A RANCH WHERE SETON
IS KNOWN TO HAVE STAYED.
SOME OF SETON'S ACTUAL TRAPS
WERE LEFT HERE WITH
DARREN'S GRANDFATHER,
IN THIS VERY BARN.
NUMBER 4 1/2 WOLF TRAP.
THIS IS ONE OF THE ACTUAL
TRAPS THAT SETON USED
TO TRY TO CATCH LOBO.
Abraham: THESE
TRAPS ARE DESIGNED
TO GRAB AND HOLD THEIR VICTIMS,
RATHER THAN KILL THEM.
I'M GOING TO PUT
SOME SOFT DIRT IN HERE
SO THE TRAP WILL SET JUST RIGHT.
NOW, ALL THE TIME,
KEEP IN MIND THIS IS
A REAL TRAP... IT'D CATCH
ME AS WELL AS ANY ANIMAL.
THE WOLF WILL ACTUALLY
PUT HIS FOOT ON THIS,
IS WHAT TRIGGERS IT TO GO OFF.
NOW, I WANT TO KEEP AN OPEN AREA
UNDER THE TRAP PAN,
SO THAT WHEN THE
ANIMAL STEPS ON IT,
IT WILL ACTUALLY
SPRING THE TRAP.
IF YOU HAD DIRT UNDERNEATH
IT, IT WOULDN'T GO OFF.
IT WOULD JUST SIT THERE.
A REAL KEY ELEMENT
IS TO MAKE THIS
ABOUT AS NATURAL WITH THE
GROUND AROUND IT AS YOU CAN.
OKAY.
NOTHING EXPOSED...
NOW WE HAVE THE TRAP SET.
AND THOUGH IT'S
OVER 100 YEARS OLD,
IT STILL FUNCTIONS PERFECTLY.
IT'S JUST DESIGNED TO CATCH IT,
AND STILL GET BLOOD
CIRCULATION TO THEIR FOOT.
THIS IS ALSO HOOKED TO A DRAG.
AS IT GOES ALONG THE GROUND,
IT'LL GET CAUGHT IN
A CACTUS OR A TREE,
OR ANYTHING ALONG THE WAY...
IT SLOWS 'EM UP ENOUGH,
IT LEAVES A MARK ON THE GROUND,
AND THEN YOU CAN
FOLLOW THE ANIMAL.
DECEMBER 13...
THIS AFTERNOON I WENT
UP TO THE WEST CANYON
WI TH RANCHER BILL ALLEN,
AND WE PUT OUTA DOZEN TRAPS
ALONG ONE OF LOBO’S TRAILS,
ALWAYS TAKING CARE TO
COVER OUR SCENT AND TRACKS.
Abraham: CATCHING LOBO
WAS BECOMING AN OBSESSION.
BUT WHY WAS A MAN
WHO LOVED NATURE
SO DETERMINED TO KILL A WOLF?
IT'S A QUESTION
THAT'S OFTEN FIRED
AT SETH McFARLAND,
CURATOR OF THE SETON
MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
IN NORTHERN NEW MEXICO.
McFarland: WE GET
ASKED A LOT BY PEOPLE
WHY SETON WAS SUCH
A CONTRADICTION...
AND HE WAS A CONTRADICTION.
ON ONE HAND, HE'S AN
UNSENTIMENTAL HUNTER...
YOU KNOW, HE'S USING FIREARMS
AND JAW TRAPS AND POISONS
TO KILL HIS ANIMALS.
ON THE OTHER HAND,
HE WAS AN AVID NATURALIST,
HE'S TAKING VERY DETAILED NOTES
IN VOLUMES OF
JOURNALS, YOU KNOW.
HE'S STUDYING THESE
ANIMALS IN GREAT DETAIL,
AND HE WOULD
FOLLOW THEIR TRACKS,
HE WOULD FOLLOW THEIR SCAT.
HE COULD COMPARE THE ANIMALS
JUST ACCORDING TO THEIR SCAT,
IN WHICH DIRECTION AND
HOW OLD AN ANIMAL WAS.
HE WAS QUITE THE PARADOX.
I MEAN,
WE HAVE TO REALIZE THAT
IT WAS A DIFFERENT TIME,
AND VIEWS WERE DIFFERENT
OF WOLVES AT THAT POINT.
WE ALSO HAVE TO REALIZE
THAT SETON GREW UP
IN THE FRONTIER OF MANITOBA,
AND HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH
WOLVES DESTROYING LIVESTOCK...
HE HAD FACED THIS HIMSELF.
Abraham: SETON SIMPLY
DIDN'T SEE WOLVES
THE WAY HE SAW
OTHER WILD CREATURES.
UNLIKE WOLVES...
WHICH WERE KILLERS...
ANIMALS LIKE ELK DIDN'T
THREATEN ANYONE'S LIVELIHOOD.
ON THE CONTRARY,
LIKE THE BUFFALO
AND THE PRONGHORN,
ELK WERE NOW
THEMSELVES IN DECLINE...
THE VICTIMS OF
OVER-HUNTING BY MAN.
SETON'S LOVE AFFAIR
WITH NEW MEXICO
WAS DEEPENING BY THE DAY.
IN FACT,
HIS CONCERN FOR ALL OF
NORTH AMERICA'S WILDLIFE
WAS VERY LIKELY AWAKENING.
BUT WHEN IT CAME TO WOLVES,
SETON WAS STILL
THINKING IN THE OLD WAY.
THROUGHOUT HISTORY,
WE HAVE DEMONIZED WOLVES,
SEEN THEM AS WANTON,
BLOODTHIRSTY KILLERS...
ALMOST THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14th,
I RODE OUT TO CHECK MY TRAPS,
AND SOON CAME UPON LOBO'S TRAIL.
IN THE DUST, I COULD READ
THE WHOLE STORY OF HIS DOINGS
THE PREVIOUS NIGHT.
HE'D RUN ALONG THROUGH THE SCRUB
FOR A FEW HUNDRED YARDS,
THEN TURNED TOWARDS MY TRAPS.
BUT UPON REACHING THE FIRST ONE,
HE'D SCRATCHED UP
STONES AND EARTH
TILL IT SPRUNG THE TRAP
AND MADE IT SAFE.
CONTINUING ALONG THE TRAIL,
SETON DISCOVERED
THAT LOBO HAD DISARMED
OVER A DOZEN OF HIS
TRAPS IN THE SAME WAY.
HOW COULD HE HAVE SEEN THROUGH
SETON'S CLEVER PLAN SO EASILY?
Smith: WOLVES ARE
VERY, VERY OBSERVANT
OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
THEY PAY ATTENTION TO A DEGREE
THAT PEOPLE HAVE A
HARD TIME FATHOMING.
THEY'RE JUST EXTREMELY ATTENTIVE
TO EVERY LITTLE THING
IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
THEY KNEW SETON WAS AFTER
'EM, AND HIS OTHER COWBOYS.
AND SO THEY BECAME
VERY ATTUNED TO HIS TRICKS.
AND ONCE THEY LEARNED
ABOUT TRAPS, ABOUT STEEL,
THEY BECOME HYPER-OBSERVANT.
THAT'S ALL THEY WERE DOING.
Abraham: THE WILY WOLF HAD
OUTWITTED SETON ONCE AGAIN.
IT WAS GOING TO
BE A LONG WINTER.
WEEK AFTER WEEK,
I VARY MY METHODS
AND REDOUBLE MY PRECAUTIONS,
YET THERE IS ONLY DEFEAT
AFTER DEFEAT.
THE COWBOYS COMPLAIN BITTERLY
OF THEIR LOSSES,
AND EACH NIGHT OLD LOBO MOCKS
ME WITH HIS TRIUMPHANT HOWL.
DECEMBER 24th: WENT
IN THE AFTERNOON
TO TRAIL WOLVES,
SAW ONLY COYOTES
AND JACKRABBITS.
THE WOLVES HAVE KILLED
THREE CATTLE AND
ONE COLT— DAMN IT!
CHRISTMAS DAY, 1893:
FOUND MANY WOLF TRACKS TODAY,
BUT CAUGHT NOTHING.
JANUARY 5th: BITTERLY
COLD, BAITS UNTOUCHED...
JANUARY 13th: GOT
NOTHING, AND SAW NOTHING...
TODAY I’VE RIDDEN
WITHOUT REST OR STOP,
BETWEEN 35 AND 40 MILES.
I AM FACING TOTAL HUMILIATION.
Abraham: AFTER
MONTHS OF FAILURE,
SETON MUST HAVE
BEEN AT HIS WIT'S END.
HE HADN'T EVEN
CLAPPED EYES ON LOBO.
WHAT HE DESPERATELY
NEEDED WAS A LUCKY BREAK...
AND EVENTUALLY,
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE GOT.
I CAMPED OUT ABOVE THE CREEK,
CLOSE TO WHERE THE
SNOW GEESE AND CRANES
ARE WINTERING.
THEY SPEND THE NIGHTS
HUDDLED TOGETHER IN THE MARSH,
BEYOND THE REACH OF THE
COYOTES AND THE WOLVES.
I T WAS THE COMMOTION
OF THE GEESE
THAT LED ME TO THE
CLUE I SO BADLY NEEDED.
I RECOGNIZED LOBO'S
MARK INSTANTLY.
AND THEN NOTICED A
SECOND SET OF TRACKS,
ALWAYS, IT SEEMED,
RUNNING OUT IN FRONT.
WHEREVER THESE
SMALLER TRACKS LED,
OLD LOBO WAS SURE TO FOLLOW,
LEAPING, AND ROLLING IN THE MUD.
SUDDENLY, I REALIZED
WHAT WAS GOING ON...
THE OLD MARAUDER WAS IN LOVE.
SETON KNEW IMMEDIATELY
THAT THE SHE-WOLF
WAS HIS BIG CHANCE.
A CYNICAL NEW PLAN
FORMED IN HIS MIND.
DURING THE BREEDING SEASON,
WHICH, APPARENTLY, A LOT
OF HIS STORY TOOK PLACE,
THAT MALE'S TENDING THAT
FEMALE EXTREMELY CLOSELY.
HE RARELY LEAVES HER SIDE
DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.
I CHASE WOLVES
WITH A HELICOPTER.
IT DOESN'T HURT
THEM, WE HAVE TO DO IT,
BUT WHEN WE MOVE IN ON THEM
IT'S DURING THE MATING SEASON,
AND YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL
WHO'S THE BREEDING PAIR,
'CAUSE THEY WILL NOT SEPARATE.
AND SO THEY'RE MOVING AROUND
IN THEIR OWN
LITTLE ORBIT OF TWO.
AND THE REST OF
THE PACK BREAKS UP
AND GOES EVERY WHICH WAY.
THAT MALE WOLF, THE ALPHA MALE,
STICKS RIGHT WITH THAT FEMALE.
I SOON LEARNED MORE
ABOUT LOBO'S MATE
FROM THE SHEPHERDS.
THEY CALL HER "BLANCA"
BECAUSE OF HER WHITE COAT,
AND THEY SAY SHE LEADS
LOBO A MERRY DANCE.
THIS TALLIES WITH THE
TRACKS I SAW AT THE CREEK,
AND HAS SUGGESTED
A WAY TO CATCH HER.
Abraham: CUNNINGLY,
SETON FIRST PLACED
TRAPS RATHER OBVIOUSLY
AROUND A DEAD COW,
GUESSING THAT LOBO WOULD
STOP AND TRY TO DISARM THEM.
WHILE HE WAS THUS DIVERTED,
SETON HOPED THAT LOBO'S MATE,
BLANCA, WOULD RUN
ON TO INVESTIGATE
THE HEAD OF THE COW,
WHICH SETON HAD CUT OFF
AND PUT TO ONE SIDE.
IT COULD ONLY BE APPROACHED
THROUGH A NARROW
PASSAGE BETWEEN ROCKS,
AND IT WAS HERE
THAT SETON PLANTED
SEVERAL OF HIS BEST TRAPS,
PROPERLY DEODORIZED,
AND CONCEALED
WITH THE UTMOST CARE.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24th:
THIS EVENING I AM MORE EXCITED,
AND YET MORE ANXIOUS,
THAN I HAVE BEEN IN
THREE LONG MONTHS.
TRY AS I MIGHT, I
CANNOT GET TO SLEEP.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING,
SETON WENT UP THE CAN YON
HOPING THAT, AT LAST,
HE'D STRUCK A BLOW
AGAINST LOBO.
HE WAS IN LUCK.
BLANCA HAD WALKED
RIGHT INTO HIS TRAP.
ACCORDING TO SETON,
LOBO REMAINED CLOSE BY,
RELUCTANT TO LEAVE HIS MATE.
BUT IT WOULD HAVE
BEEN SUICIDE TO STAY
AND FACE THE MEN'S GUNS.
SETON WOULD LATER
RECOIL FROM WHAT HE CALLED
"THE INEVITABLE
TRAGEDY THAT FOLLOWED."
BUT THE PLAIN FACT WAS,
HE WAS HERE TO DO A JOB...
HE WAS HERE TO KILL WOLVES.
SUCCESS AT LAST.
SETON HAD CLAIMED
HIS FIRST SCALP.
AND YET NOW, WITH BLANCA DEAD,
LOBO WAS ABOUT TO
TOUCH SETON'S HEART...
AND CHANGE, FOREVER,
THE WAY HE SAW WOLVES.
THE KING OF THE CURRUMPAW
HAD LOST HIS MATE.
TONIGHT I HEARD
LOBO UP IN THE CANYON.
AND THERE WAS AN UNMISTAKABLE
NOTE OF SORROW IN HIS VOICE.
IT WAS NO LONGER THE
LOUD, DEFIANT HOWL
I HAD HEARD SO OFTEN,
BUT A LONG, PLAINTIVE WAIL.
"BLANCA!" HE SEEMED TO CALL.
I T WAS SADDER THAN I COULD
POSSIBLY HAVE IMAGINED.
Smith: I THINK THERE IS AN
EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT
BETWEEN WOLVES IN A PACK...
CERTAINLY AMONG A MATED PAIR,
AND THE EXAMPLE I USE
IS, HERE IN YELLOWSTONE,
A WOLF DIED... A FEMALE WOLF...
SHE WAS THE ALPHA,
VERY SIMILAR TO BLANCA.
SHE WAS KILLED BY ANOTHER PACK,
AND THE ALPHA MALE...
PARDON MY WAY OF PUTTING IT...
SEEMED TO MOURN.
HE HOWLED FOR TWO DAYS AFTER,
MORE THEN ANYBODY
HAD SEEN HIM HOWL.
AND HE WAILED, AND HE
WAILED, AND HE WAILED.
A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT
SETON DESCRIBED IN HIS STORY,
WE'VE SEEN HERE IN THE
WILDS OF YELLOWSTONE.
Abraham: SETON HAD
BROUGHT BLANCA'S BODY
BACK TO HIS CABIN.
BUT THE LAST THING HE EXPECTED
WAS FOR LOBO TO THROW
CAUTION TO THE WIND,
AND COME LOOKING FOR HER.
NOT ONCE HAS HE SHOWN
HIMSELF IN ALL THE MONTHS
I'VE PURSUED HIM,
YET NOW HE SCORNS HIS OWN SAFETY
TO FIND HIS BELOVED BLANCA.
WE CAN ONLY GUESS WHAT DOUBTS
WERE CREEPING INTO SETON'S MIND,
BUT IT WAS TOO LATE TO STOP NOW.
SETON HAD TO STRIKE FAST,
WHILE LOBO'S GUARD WAS DOWN.
HE GATHERED UP ALL
HIS TRAPS... 130 IN ALL,
AND SET THEM ON EVERY
APPROACH TO HIS CABIN.
LAST OF ALL, HE
USED BLANCA'S SCENT
AS A LURE TO DRAW LOBO IN.
SETON SET OUT THE NEXT
MORNING WITH CONFIDENCE.
EVERY OUTLAW TALE
HAS ITS SHOWDOWN,
AND FOR SETON AND
LOBO, THE FATEFUL DAY
WAS JANUARY 31st, 1894.
HIS PLAN HAD WORKED.
THE FIRST THING SETON DID
WAS TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH.
IT'S AN ASTONISHING RECORD
THAT SURVIVES TO THIS DAY.
OLD LOBO, THE KING
OF THE CURRUMPAW,
IS CLEARLY VISIBLE
CAUGHT IN FOUR TRAPS...
ONE ON EACH LEG.
THAT'S WHAT IT HAD TAKEN
TO STOP THIS INCREDIBLE WOLF.
WHERE ARE YOU GUESSING
THIS... IS THIS A LITTLE RIDGE,
OR ARE YOU GUESSING
THIS IS GRASS RIGHT THERE?
I'M ASSUMING THAT
MAY JUST BE A ROAD.
Abraham: SETON'S JOURNAL
RECORDS THE DATE THAT LOBO
WAS FINALLY CAPTURED,
BUT THE EXACT LOCATION
IS UNCERTAIN.
CURATOR SETH McFARLAND
IS VISITING RANCHER MARGIE LONG,
IN THE HOPE THAT
SETON'S PHOTOGRAPH
CAN LEAD HIM TO THE PLACE
WHERE LOBO WAS TRAPPED.
Long: YOU CAN SEE THESE
BIG SQUARE HUNKS OF ROCK,
SO IT MAY BE THAT THIS ANGLE
IS MORE OVER TOWARDS THE BARN.
THESE HILLS ARE SO BARE,
THEY PROBABLY CLEANED
ALL THAT WOOD OFF
FOR FENCE POSTS AND FUEL WOOD.
YES, THEY SAY THAT THE
BRUSH HAS REALLY GROWN BACK
OVER THE YEARS, AND
LOOKING AT OLDER PICTURES,
THERE WERE NO TREES AND,
YOU KNOW, CEDARS AND SHRUBS.
I THINK WE'VE GOT THE SPOT.
SEE, HE'S GOT THE
FOUR TRAPS ON HIM,
WELL, THERE'S ONE,
DEFINITELY, ON HIS BACK LEG,
THERE'S ONE RIGHT
THERE, AND THERE'S A THIRD.
I DON'T KNOW — I
KNOW, IN THE STORY,
IT TALKS ABOUT HOW
HE HAD ONE POP FREE,
AND THAT LEG SEEMED TO
BE TUCKED BACK UNDER HIM.
NOW, WHAT ARE THE
FAMILY TRADITIONS?
DOES THE STORY DIFFER AN Y,
OR IS IT PRETTY
MUCH THE SAME TALE?
NO, I KEEP HEARING
THE SAME STORY,
AND IT WAS JUST RIGHT OUT
HERE IN FRONT OF THE CHICKEN PEN.
AND THAT HE WAS TRAPPED,
BECAUSE THEY HAD
HIS MATE CAUGHT,
AND HE CAME IN TO HER
AND THEY CAUGHT HIM.
AND I'VE JUST HEARD THE
SAME STORY OVER AND OVER
FROM THE OLD TIMERS
AROUND, UH-HUH.
♪♪
Abraham: SETON HAD WON.
AFTER THE LONG CHASE,
HE FINALLY HAD LOBO
AT HIS MERCY.
BUT FACE-TO-FACE
WITH HIS ADVERSARY,
SETON'S RESOLVE FALTERED.
PERHAPS KILLING LOBO NO
LONGER FELT LIKE A VICTORY,
BUT A CRIME.
PERHAPS, IN HIS EYES,
LOBO WAS NO LONGER "VERMIN,"
BUT A CREATURE WITH DIGNITY...
COURAGEOUS, LOYAL, AND LOVING.
UNTIL NOW, SETON HAD SEEN WOLVES
SIMPLY AS
INDISCRIMINATE KILLERS,
BUT THEY WERE OBVIOUSLY
MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
THEY WERE THE VERY EMBODIMENT
OF AMERICA'S
VANISHING WILDERNESS.
IT'S AS IF THE CONFLICT
WITHIN SETON...
BETWEEN THE HUNTER
AND THE NATURALIST...
WAS FINALLY RESOLVED.
HE DECIDED TO TAKE
LOBO BACK ALIVE.
SADLY, IT WAS TOO LATE.
LOBO MADE
NO RESISTANCE TO ME.
HE NEVER ONCE LOOKED AT ME.
BUT ACTED AS THOUGH HE
WAS ALONE ON THE PLAINS.
HIS EYES WERE FIXED ON
THE FAR ROLLING MESAS,
HIS PASSING KINGDOM,
WHERE HIS FAMOUS BAND
WAS NOW SCATTERED.
WHEN THE SUN WENT DOWN,
HE WAS STILL GAZING
OUT ACROSS THE PRAIRIE,
BUT WI THIN A FEW HOURS,
THE OLD KING WOLF WAS DEAD.
WE KNOW THAT AN EAGLE
ROBBED OF HIS FREEDOM,
A LION SHORN OF HIS STRENGTH,
A DOVE BEREFT OF HIS MATE,
ALL DIE, I T IS SAID,
OF A BROKEN HEART.
AND SO I T WAS WI TH OLD LOBO,
THE KING OF THE CURRUMPAW.
Abraham: IT WAS LOBO'S
LOYALTY TO BLANCA
THAT HAD BEEN HIS DOWN FALL,
AND NOW SETON TOOK
LOBO TO BE WITH HER AGAIN.
SETON PROFOUNDLY
REGRETTED WHAT HE HAD DONE.
HE NEVER KILLED ANOTHER WOLF.
Smith: WHEN I READ
SETON'S STORY,
TO A CERTAIN DEGREE
I FILTERED THROUGH
A LOT OF HIS FLOWERY LANGUAGE.
I LOOKED AT IT THROUGH
A BIOLOGICAL LENS.
IS WHAT THESE WOLVES WERE DOING,
GIVEN THE CONTEXT OF THE TIME,
WHICH WAS NO-TO-LITTLE
NATURAL PREY,
A LASER FOCUS ON
KILLING LIVESTOCK,
AN INCREDIBLE ABILITY TO AVOID
TRAPS AND GUNS AND POISONS,
IS ALL THAT POSSIBLE?
ABSOLUTELY.
DO WOLVES HAVE AN
INCREDIBLY STRONG ATTACHMENT
BETWEEN A MATED
PAIR? ABSOLUTELY.
Abraham: LOBO, THE LAST
OUTLAW WOLF OF NEW MEXICO,
WAS DEAD.
THE CURRUMPAW VALLEY
HAD BEEN SILENCED.
BY 1894, IT SEEMED THAT
VIRTUALLY ALL OF
AMERICA'S WILDERNESS
WAS DESTINED TO BE CLEANED-UP,
CIVILIZED, AND MADE SAFE.
SETON HAD COME HERE
IN THE TWILIGHT YEARS
OF THE WILD WEST,
AND HE HAD PLAYED HIS
PART IN ITS DESTRUCTION.
BUT THIS WAS NOT THE END
OF LOBO'S IMPACT ON
THE WORLD OF MEN...
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT...
TO SETON, AND TO THE
STORY HE WROTE ABOUT LOBO,
WOULD HAVE A PROFOUND
EFFECT ON THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN AMERICANS
AND THEIR WILDERNESS.
SETON HEADED EAST,
DEEPLY AFFECTED BY
HIS WESTERN ADVENTURE
AND DETERMINED TO
RECORD WHAT HAD HAPPENED.
IN THE STORY HE WROTE,
HE BOLDLY CAST
HIMSELF AS THE VILLAIN...
AND THE WOLF AS THE HERO.
HIS BOOK, "WILD
ANIMALS I HAVE KNOWN,"
WAS AN IMMEDIATE WORLDWIDE HIT.
VIRTUALLY OVERNIGHT,
IT PROPELLED SETON FROM
A LITTLE-KNOWN NATURALIST
INTO A MAJOR CELEBRITY.
BUT WHAT REALLY
MATTERED TO SETON NOW
WAS SAVING AMERICA’S WILDERNESS
BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE.
HISTORIAN DAVID WITT
THINKS THE TURNING POINT
CAN BE TRACED BACK
TO A SINGLE WORD
IN SETON'S JOURNAL.
Witt: HE HAS THIS LAST
WORD IN THE ENTRY... "WHY?"
AND IT'S A VERY BIG "WHY,"
IT WAS EVEN WRITTEN
IN LARGE LETTERS.
MAYBE HE WAS PUTTING
DOWN THAT "WHY"
ASKING "WHY DID THE ANIMAL DIE?"
BECAUSE HE FOLLOWS-UP
WITH A COUPLE OF NOTES
ABOUT THE PHYSICAL
CONDITION OF THE ANIMAL.
BUT I THINK THAT THE "WHY"
WAS MUCH BIGGER THAN THAT.
IT REALLY WAS A "WHY" ASKING,
"WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
"WHAT IS OUR
RELATIONSHIP TO NATURE,
WHY ARE WE
DESTROYING IT LIKE THIS?"
Abraham: AT A TIME WHEN
FEW PEOPLE QUESTIONED
THE DESTRUCTION OF NATURE,
SETON SPOKE UP
FOR THE WILDERNESS.
HIS VIEWS ABOUT THE
VALUE OF THE WILD
FOUND FAVOR WITH POLITICIANS
LIKE TEDDY ROOSEVELT,
AND HELPED TO TURN THE
TIDE OF PUBLIC OPINION.
SETON USED HIS INFLUENCE
TO PUSH FOR THE CREATION
OF MORE NATIONAL PARKS.
THOUSANDS OF ORDINARY AMERICANS
BECAME AWARE OF THEIR
SPECTACULAR NATURAL HERITAGE.
Witt: SO SETON
TOOK A LEADING ROLE
IN WHAT BECAME THE
CONSERVATION MOVEMENT,
AND EVENTUALLY THE
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT.
HE WAS TALKING ABOUT
OUR RELATIONSHIP
NOT ONLY TO ANIMALS,
BUT TO ALL OF NATURE...
HE WAS DOING IT IN A
VERY ECOLOGICAL WAY,
HE WAS CERTAINLY ONE
OF THE FIRST ECOLOGISTS.
Abraham: SETON ALSO LOBBIED
FOR HUNTING RESTRICTIONS
AND ANTI-POACHING MEASURES,
AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL
IN PUSHING THROUGH
RADICAL NEW LAWS TO
PROTECT MIGRATING BIRDS.
HE DID LOBBY FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION,
INCLUDING THE FIRST
WILDLIFE LEGISLATION
THAT PROTECTED
MIGRATORY ANIMALS.
AND BECAUSE OF SETON,
THEY LOBBIED CONGRESS
AND EXPANDED
GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY
TO THE INTERSTATE
CONTROL OF WILDLIFE.
IT WAS A MAJOR INCREASE IN
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY,
AND IT LAID THE GROUNDWORK
FOR EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION
THAT HAS COME AFTER THAT TIME.
Abraham: AND IT
WASN'T JUST A QUESTION
OF SAVING THE WILDERNESS...
SETON FELT THAT PEOPLE
HAD TO EXPERIENCE IT
IN ORDER TO CARE ABOUT IT,
THAT IT SHOULD BE A PART
OF EVERYONE'S UPBRINGING.
INSPIRED BY THE VALUES OF
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE,
HE FOUNDED THE
"WOODCRAFT INDIANS,"
AN ORGANIZATION
THAT TAUGHT CHILDREN
MAN Y OF THE SKILLS
NEEDED FOR OUTDOOR LIFE,
ALONG WITH A RESPECT FOR NATURE.
MAN Y OF THESE IDEAS
WERE LATER ADOPTED
FOR THE BASIS FOR THE
BOY SCOUTS IN ENGLAND,
AND SETON HIMSELF
WAS A FOUNDING FATHER
OF THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA.
BY THE EARLY YEARS
OF THE 20th CENTURY,
THE UNITED STATES LED THE WORLD
IN THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE,
AND TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN
WERE HEADING OFF
TO CAMP IN THE WOODS
AND THE MOUNTAINS.
SETON HAD BEEN A PRIME
MOVER IN ALL OF THIS,
AND IT HAD ALL STARTED
BACK IN THE CURRUMPAW,
IN THE AUTUMN OF 1893,
WHEN HE'D SET OUT TO
KILL AN OUTLAW WOLF
CALLED "LOBO."
BUT WHAT ABOUT WOLVES?
WAS THE NEW
NATURE-LOVING AMERICA
READY TO EMBRACE ITS OLD ENEMY?
FOR DECADES,
SETON WAS VIRTUALLY ALONE
IN HIS DESIRE TO PROTECT WOLVES
ALONGSIDE THE
OTHER WILD ANIMALS.
IT HAS TAKEN A LONG TIME
FOR THE REST OF
AMERICA TO CATCH UP.
AS HEAD OF THE WOLF RECOVERY
PROGRAM IN YELLOWSTONE,
DOUG SMITH SEES HIS JOB
AS TRYING TO COMPLETE
WHAT SETON BEGAN.
Smith: THE CHANGE
OF HEART TO WOLVES
HAS ONLY BEEN GOING
FOR ABOUT 30 OR 40 YEARS...
I MEAN, LITERALLY,
IN THE UNITED STATES,
INTO THE 1960s,
MOST PEOPLE STILL
THOUGHT WOLVES WERE BAD.
AND I THINK WHAT WE
HAD WAS AN AWAKENING
TO A NEW ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT,
AND THAT KILLING ALL
THESE PREDATORS...
WOLVES AND OTHER CARNIVORES...
WITHOUT QUESTION, FOR SO LONG,
I THINK THE LIGHT BULB WENT
ON IN PEOPLE'S HEADS AS, "WHY?"
BUT I NEED TO BE VERY CLEAR...
THERE IS STILL A LARGE
GROUP OF PEOPLE
WHO RETAIN THE
OLD VIEW OF WOLVES.
I KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE
COME UP TO ME AND SAID,
"MY GRANDFATHER
"KILLED OFF THIS ANIMAL
TO MAKE LIFE HERE EASIER,
AND YOU'RE BRINGING IT BACK."
SO ATTITUDES HAVE CHANGED,
BUT THE OLD
ATTITUDE STILL EXISTS.
AND SO NOW WE'RE AT THIS VERY
POLARIZED BASHING OF HEADS
ABOUT HOW TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD.
BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE
FEEL PREDATORS LIKE WOLVES
HAVE NO PLACE, STILL...
AS MANY PEOPLE
FELT IN SETON'S TIME.
BUT OTHERS ARE SAYING,
"HEY, WE MADE A MISTAKE,
AND WE NEED TO
BRING WOLVES BACK."
SETON HAS HAD A
TREMENDOUS IMPACT
ON WHERE WE ARE TODAY
IN TERMS OF RESPECTING NATURE.
AND I THINK ENOUGH PEOPLE...
AT LEAST IN NORTH AMERICA...
CANADIANS AND AMERICANS,
RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE MAYBE
OVERSTRETCHED OUR REACH,
IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'VE TAKEN.
Abraham: SETON'S
PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION,
FROM WOLF-KILLER
TO WOLF-PROTECTOR,
WAS THE BEGINNING OF
SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER...
IT SET THE COURSE
FOR A TOTALLY
FRESH UNDERSTANDING
OF THE NATURE OF WOLVES.
AND IT HELPED PAVE THE WAY
FOR THE RETURN OF WOLVES
AND OTHER PREDATORS
TO THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE
AT THE HEART OF THE WILD.
THE DUEL BETWEEN SETON AND
LOBO MAY HAVE LED TO SAD DEATHS,
BUT ULTIMATELY, IT ALSO
BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO
AMERICANS' APPRECIATION
OF THEIR WILDERNESS.
IN LATER LIFE, SETON RETURNED
TO LIVE IN HIS BELOVED NEW MEXICO.
I HAVE BEEN MUCH CRITICIZED...
FIRSTLY, FOR KILLING
BLANCA AND LOBO,
BUT CHIEFLY FOR TELLING OF IT,
TO THE DISTRESS OF
MANY TENDER HEARTS.
TO THIS I REPLY:
IN WHAT FRAME OF MIND
ARE MY READERS LEFT
WI TH REGARD TO THE WOLF?
ARE THEIR SYMPATHIES QUICKENED
TOWARD THE MAN WHO KILLED HIM?
OR TOWARD THE NOBLE
CREATURE WHO DIED AS HE LIVED...
DIGNIFIED, FEARLESS,
AND STEADFAST?
Abraham: RIGHT UP
TO HIS DEATH IN 1946,
SETON CONTINUED TO REFLECT
ON THE WOLF THAT
CHANGED HIS LIFE.
EVER SINCE LOBO,
MY SINCEREST WISH
HAS BEEN TO IMPRESS UPON PEOPLE
THAT EACH OF OUR NATIVE
WILD CREATURES IS IN ITSELF
A PRECIOUS HERITAGE THAT
WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO DESTROY
OR PUT BEYOND THE
REACH OF OUR CHILDREN.