BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

July 2020

PHILIPPAFORRESTERisa producer,writer

andpresenterwholivesinWyoming,USA.She

istheauthorofOntheTrailofWolves:A British

AdventureintheWildWest(Bloomsbury,£17.99).

Inourseriesaboutpeoplewithapassionfor a species, we ask presenter

andauthorPhilippaForresterwhysheloves the grey wolf.

PHILIPPA FORRESTER

Whythelifelongfascination

withwolves?

Oneofthethingsthatmakeswolves

mostinterestingtomeis their

relationships.I lovetohearthestories

ofindividualsthatshowingenuity

andextremecouragetoprotector

feedtheirfamily,andlearnabout

theinteractionsbetweenpacks.For

example,whileI wasinYellowstone

NationalPark,US,theJunction

Buttepackhadgrowninpower

andwasnotafraidtoshowit,with

thewolvesf launtingthemselvesin

theirneighbouringpack’sterritory,

constantlypushingboundaries–

theyseemedsoconfidentthatit was

almostliketheyweredoingit forfun!

Whathaveyoulearntabout

thegreywolfafterrelocating

toWyoming?

I hadn’trealisedtheamountof

passionpeoplehaveforwolves– both

negativeandpositive.Thepresenceof

wolveshasaffectedsomanyhuman

livesandI wantedtotellthosestories

inOntheTrailof Wolves. Opinions

ofwolvesarestillpolarisedand

thismotivatedme.I wantedto

getbeyondmyownprejudicein

ordertolistenandunderstand

whattheproblemsreallywere,

While settlers were building ranches

and the national buffalo herd was

being decimated, wolves and ranchers

were in a head-to-head. The wolves

were vilified and there was every

effort to eradicate them. I found the

level of that hatred extraordinary when

I read the old records and still find it

painful, to be honest – there was no

mercy until the job was done.

How did you trail grey wolves?

Trackingwolvesis difficultwithouta

plane!Atfirst,myhusbandCharlie

andI followedtracksthroughdeep

snowformiles.It wasexhaustingbut

greatfun,weputcamera-trapsoutin

placeswherewewereprettysurethe

wolveswouldbehangingout(wehad

specialpermission)andcheckedthem

regularly.Thechallengewithcamera-

trapsis that 99 percentofthetime

theycatchnothing,orjusta bison’s

bottom,oranelk’sfacebeforehe

chewsthecables.InYellowstone,it

is easytospotthewolves,because

youseea groupofwolfwatchersfirst.

Othertimes,yourelyoncontactsand

sometimes,oftenthebesttimes,it

justhappensbychance.

WILDLIFECHAMPION

VIEWPOINT

to change the way I

reacted to the things

I didn’t understand,

like trophy hunting,

and ask questions

instead of judging.

This kind of

conversation, for

me, is key to the

successful conservationofapex

predators and other species.

HowdidtheUSwolf

populationbecome

nearlyextinct?

Untilrelativelyrecent

times,thehistoryofwolf-

and-humanrelationships

hereinWyominghas

beenoneofwarfare. Theexpertview

Wolveswerereintroducedto

Yellowstonein1995,andbecameone

oftheworld’smostheavilystudied

wolfpopulations.Theirhighvisibility

alongwiththededicatedmonitoringeortsof

parkstahasallowedunparalleledinsightinto

thelifehistory,behaviour,andecologyofwolves.

KnowledgegainedfromYellowstonehasassisted

wolfconservation,management,andconflict-

resolutioneortsacrossthenorthernhemisphere.

AimeeTallian, wildlifeecologist,OurWorldofWildlife

99 percent

ofthetime,

camera-traps

catchnothing,

orjustabison’s

bottom.

S

T

Philippa: Emma Peios/Getty; wolf: George Sanker/naturepl.com

Interview by Jo Price