Wolf
Wolves are dog-like animals. They usually hunt in packs. As a sign of submissiveness, a wolf will expose his neck to another wolf, who (instead of taking advantage of this vulnerability) will assume a dominant role toward him.
Attempts were made in the 1930s and thereafter to eliminate these animals as pests, in the United States, particularly in Yellowstone National Park. The Canadian government also made plans to exterminate wolves (see Farley Mowat). Thankfully, this effort was unsuccesful as wolves still survive in both countries.
The last wolf in England was bagged on the fringes of Hounslow Heath, Middlesex, in 1756.
The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is the ancestor of the domestic dog. Since even in the evolutionary view this is considered to have occurred in a relatively short time frame (as little as 15,000 years ago) this is one area where the views of Young earth creationists and evolutionists generally overlap.
Wolves mate for life.
Wolves in the Bible
Wolves are mentioned several times in the Bible, where they are typically used as examplars of savagery, which is ironic as wolves are now known to be highly intelligent and social animals with complex social hierarchies. When Jesus sends out the Apostles, he says,
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16 (KJV)
and Isaiah prophesies the New Earth,
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. Isaiah 65:25 (KJV)
External links
- Never Cry Wolf - drama about a scientist who proved that wolves can live on rodents
- Coyote or Wolf?, Videos © 2008 Yellowstone Association