For hundreds of years, the wolf has been greatly mischaracterized. Stories and myths passed on through the years have told numerous tales of the wolf being a malicious and violent animal. However, as we view the wolf through the eyes of Farley Mowat we are given the opportunity to see the wolf from a completely different perspective. Sent to the Keewatin Barren to study wolves for the Dominion Wildlife Service, Mowat himself was surprised at how contrary the wolf actually was to the stories and legends that he heard. Mowat became familiar with a pack of wolves (and their pups) whom he named George, Angeline, and Uncle Albert, and found that wolves are actually very docile, playful and intelligent animals.
Surprisingly, the wolf is in fact a very passive and non-aggressive animal. During a brief stay in Churchill on his way to the Keewatin, Mowat was told stories of how, "wolves ... devour several hundred people ... every year."(16) However, when Mowat actually encountered a wolf for his first time, instead of attacking him, the wolf leaped in the air and then raced away like a bolt of lightening across the barren landscape. Wolves also share the land that they live in respectfully with other animals. While observing the wolves as they mingled amongst the caribou, Mowat found that, "the deer were not alarmed and none took evasive action except when the wolves happened to be on a collision course with them." (143) Even when Mowat intruded into the den of the wolves and posed a possibly threatening situation, the wolves did not attack him or even show any signs of hostility.
Aside from being so non-violent, the wolves are actually very playful with each other. Mowat describes how George and Angeline (two of the wolves that he was observing) often engaged themselves in a game of "tag" with each other:
He in his attempt to evade her, tripped and went sp
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