This is Hayden, courtesy of my friend Susan Snyder's blog,
Nature's Call. She took the photo of the gray wolf "at the Gizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Mont., gateway to Yellowstone National Park." It's a fascinating place.
She writes:
Frankly, if you have never seen wolf up close -- as I haven't -- it is plenty close. There is no mistaking one of these fabulous animals for a dog. Their fur is the thick, coarse variety that only a wild animal possesses, and their eyes have a depth that domestic animals lack.
But Hayden's sheer appearance of wildness isn't what took my breath. It was his howl -- a long, mournful wail that traveled up my spine and made my scalp prickle. It is deep, haunting and nothing whatsoever like the almost comical yip-yip-yawooo of a coyote. It is unlike any sound that I have ever heard.
I stood there under a cold gray sky and watched as Hayden pointed his nose into the falling snow and howled again, this time eliciting responses from other members of the pack.
Susan goes on to discuss what humans have done to wolves. Please read her whole post.
This is Hayden, courtesy of my friend Susan Snyder's blog, Nature's Call. She took the photo of the gray wolf "at the Gizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Mont., gateway to Yellowstone National Park." It's a fascinating place. She writes: