Mirror Poem Inspired by Wolf Calendar Photo

There’s a new Folding Mirror poem on fmpoetrywordpress.com, and it’s one close to our hearts, as it combines the two things most important to a werewolf: a human and a wolf. Yes, it’s a poem created by a human about a wolf.

Romuléon – caption: ‘Faustulus discovers Romulus and Remus being suckled by a she-wolf on the bank of the Tiber; behind, he entrusts the infants to Laurentia. With text below and decorated borders containing the arms and badge of England.’ (Photo credit: The British Library)

While there are many examples of wolves making friends with humans, and even bringing up human babies, such as the Remus and Romulus legend about the founding of Rome, there is no existing evidence of a wolf writing a poem about humans… or anything else for that matter. Wolves are too busy being wolves, and doing wolf things!

Wolf Mirror Poem

Hi, it’s William Wolfsworth, poetry correspondent at the greenYgrey inspired by legendary Romantic poet William Wordsworth.

Yes, Marc Latham has created and posted a new mirror poem onto fmpoetry, and I’ve imported it into the greenygrey world this morning. Here it is:

Wolves 2012 Calendar, October Star Wolf

fire melting gold
fall full flow
leaves oval shaped
seem to poke
fun behind rump
tongue-twisting
on thin reaching branches

both stand on rock, green and grey coloured

under strong running legs
tree-like
paws resemble  plinths
keep head grounded
feminine tongue smiles
sunrise eyes shine
below mountain peaks

G8 and Mexican Gray Wolf News and Poetry

G8
think they’re great
but they ain’t as quaint
as sw-love being an
anagram for wolves
with Mexican grays
a reminder of the old ways
surviving with the help
of conservationists
raising Arizona
to wildlife nirvana

Mexican Grey Wolves Released 

English: Shot at the Minnesota Zoo. A critically endangered Mexican Gray Wolf is kept captive for breeding purposes. Less than 15 Mexican Wolves are currently estimated to survive in the wild. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hi, it’s William Wolfsworth, poetry correspondent at the Greenygrey. Hope you don’t mind my above new poem, combining the news that the G8 are meeting today and tomorrow in Ireland with great gray wolf news from USA Today that more endangered Mexican gray wolves are being released in Arizona, south-west U.S.A. There’s only about 70 Mexican gray wolves left.

To complete my poetry and news, with a combination of the two, Marc Latham has also published another Bergen, Norway-inspired nature topic Folding Mirror poem on fmpoetry.wordpress.com. Here’s the poem; there’s more explanation and a couple of photos over on fmpoetry:

Water Landscape, Mountain Canvas

sky spoke an ancient tale
in snowflakes and raindrops
sign language
wind written
on mountain arms
warmed by trees

nature’s cold beauty, interpreting warm message

water and land
intriguing relationship bond
misty apparition
delivering reminder
while replenishing forest waterfalls
best in life is free

‘Wolfie’ Adams Early Darts Exit

Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams, satire comedy sports correspondent at the Greenygrey.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m sorry to report that my human parallel, Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams, has been knocked out of the world darts tournament by Jimmy Hendriks.

The good news is that it has opened up the contest for the  sportswerewolf of the year award 2013.

Cover of Gypsy Sun and Rainbows

Wolf of the Year and New Wolves get it Right… Whale

Hi, it’s Greenygrey. We’re proud to announce that our Wolf of the Year 2012 is OR7, who at the end of last year became the first wild wolf in California since 1924. Moreover, it also posed for a great greenygrey gif.

Its lean appearance suggests life is hard on the wilderness road for a lone wolf in new territory, but it is probably enjoying its freedom and new experiences.

New Wolf Pups 

Cuter than Alexandr Orlov’s meerkat pups, these new wolf pups on the Defenders of Wildlife facebook page provide hope for the survival of the species, and wolves continuing to provide great greenygrey gifs.

Right Whales get it Right

And while we were wolf-watching on the Defenders of Wildlife facebook site we couldn’t help noticing one of the few remaining Right Whales having a whale of a time getting greenygreying right.

Wolves for Women and Social Order

Hi, it’s Greenygrey. We’d love the human world to be all safe and peaceful, and to think that a natural order would result from a dissolution of controlling organisations. But as we know from the wolf world, and most other animals, order is needed to benefit the pack or community. While some wolves live alone, and some spend time alone, most live within the order of the pack.

English: The Gibbon wolf pack pauses in the snowy landscape. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Counter-culture and Natural Order

While Marc still felt part of the ‘counter-culture’ he saw a David Frost Show from 1970. Marc was initially most interested in it because hippies (of the Yippy youth hippies movement) took over the studio.

But what stuck in Marc’s mind most was the view of Frost’s other interviewee, the anthropologist and behavioural scientist, Robert Ardrey, who said that the hippies’ anarchist views were not in line with humanity’s past or the animal world.

Ardrey’s views seemed to be proven soon after, when the hippy movement collapsed and many of the Yippies soon became Yuppies. Although many of their views still survive, and are relevant for today’s world.

Adam Curtis included the breakdown of the 1960s hippy communes under competing personalities and egos in his All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace documentary; and this is featured by Marc in his 242 Mirror Poems and Reflections, which is now available to borrow for Amazon Prime members in the UK, France and Germany; joining the U.S. 

Natural World: She-Wolf Saves Cubs

We were reminded of this while watching the Natural World: A Wolf Called Storm documentary, when Storm led the pack on a two-mile swim through cold water.

His partner noticed their pups were struggling, and turned back to lead them  to safety, while Storm and the older wolves continued their swim. If she hadn’t taken that responsibility, the cubs would probably have drowned.

We think that shows how teamwork and sharing can help benefit a society, whether wolf or human.

P.S. While we mean this blog to be positive for women, we fear we’ll probably be accused of being sexist or something, for making out that women should be the ones taking responsibility for the young.

Wolf Pup Orphan tops Wildlife News

Hi, it’s Wolf Whistzer, newshound at the Greenygrey. We don’t usually forward Defenders of Wildlife news, but we were so moved by their story about a wolf pup (and the cute photo) that we thought we would today.

Wolf Pup Mistaken for Dog

The pup was picked up by well-intentioned campers in Idaho who thought it was a lost dog puppy. But when they took it to the local sheriff’s office it was identified as a wolf pup.

The bad news is that Defenders of Wildlife tried to find its pack for two weeks, but couldn’t locate it. The good news is that several wildlife rescue centres have offered it a home.

Good News for Wildlife

Some other good news stories in the latest Defenders of Wildlife newsletter were:

• More land has been bought to give Florida panthers more room to roam.
• More protection for hammerhead sharks in Costa Rican waters.
• California condor numbers have risen from 22 to over 400 in twenty-five years.

Wolves, Witches and Giants is not Politically Correct is it?

Spike Milligan (Photo credit: the justified sinner)

Hi, it’s Harry Silhouetteof-Wolfhowlingonhill, tv expert at the Greenygrey. I was touched to see the reaction of the wildlife experts when they saw my namesake on Land of the Lost Wolves: a wolf silhouette howling on a hill. We transcribed the two episodes today, and should have some articles on Suite 101 and detailed blogs about it in the next couple of days.

Wolves, Witches and Giants

I was shocked to see a cartoon called Wolves, Witches and Giants the other day, and especially as it had stereotypical images of wolves, witches and giants. More new wolfophobia I thought. But then I looked it up on Wikipedia (link above), and turns out it was made in 1995, and is narrated by an old favourite of ours, Spike Milligan. We still question whether it should be shown though, under the strict rules of political correctness now ruling the media. As the Land of the Lost Wolves documentary said and showed, wolves are one of only 2-3% of animals that live as a family (the pack), and who visibly show mourning behaviour when they lose a partner.

And that’s not to mention the witchaphobia the cartoon contains. Wicca is a religion chosen by a growing number of very respectable and life-valuing people. Can you imagine any of the monotheistic religions being depicted as a baddie in such a cartoon? Thousands of people were executed after being accused of being witches in Europe during previous centuries, and many are still being killed around the world to this day on the witch premise. There have been some victims killed in the UK recently. Most of those accused of being witches are the victims of paranoid zealots, so the continuation of this negative stereotyping of witches in the mainstream media is questionable.

While this blog is meant in jest, there are a couple of genuine concerns within the above paragraphs; as well as the identification of one religion being treated worse than others.

And tall people might not be too pleased about the giant aspect either?

Pedigree Dogs and Wild Wolves: the Truth

Image via Wikipedia

Hi, it’s Harry Silhouetteof-Wolfhowlingonhill. Last night there was a good but sad documentary about how pedigree dogs have been bred into deformity by decades of human engineering. Pedigree Dogs Exposed: Three Years On showed how dogs’ skulls and bones have been changed into totally different shapes in under a century; like an evolution of convenience for humanity’s vision, rather than the animal’s health. The dogs have trouble living a normal life, and even breathing in some cases. It’s available on BBC iplayer in the UK; don’t know about other availability: http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01cqp75/

Also, tonight at 10 on BBC4 there’s a Natural World documentary on the Wolf Pack (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0078ps7). I think I’ve seen it before, and it’s a warts n’ all documentary, so not all good for wolves, but is a balanced look at the wolf and how it really lives (unlike the wolfophobia of The Grey film!).

‘The Grey’ Liam Neeson Film Provokes PETA Boycott

Hi, it’s Grey Greyvara, leader of the Grey Equality Transition (GET) at the Greenygrey. I am upset to see the grey name tarnished in the The Grey film, which regurgitates the demonic wolfophobic style grey wolf image that has led to the wolf’s extinction in most regions of the world.

Grey Balance

If anything has suffered a horrific nightmare in the human-wolf relationship, it is the grey wolf, with communities of the animal that gave us our ‘best friend’ in the dog, wiped out around the world.

And yet, in the 21st century, as the grey wolf attempts to survive in its old territories like Yellowstone, after the wonderful reintroduction in 1995, The Grey might set the image of the wolf back again, and provoke some people into wanting to hunt the brave and wise big wild dog.

Jaws is thought to have led to a big rise in shark deaths after it monsterised the species. We hope that not one wolf dies as a result of The Grey, but fear there might be multiple deaths.

PETA Boycott

We thought about ignoring the film, after first mentioning it in the December blog stating that our Grey’s Werewolf of Oz shouldn’t be mixed up with The Grey, as we thought publicity might create more interest.

But PETA has called for a boycott after the star of the film, Liam Neeson,  boasted of eating wolf before making the film, so we have responded.

We are glad to say that Marc Latham has just written an article about it on Suite 101: http://marc-latham.suite101.com/the-grey-anti-wolf-movie-has-angered-animal-rights-activists-a402594

If you do choose to watch it, we hope you will treat it as the fiction it is.

Werewolf of Oz is more realistic than The Grey

Image via Wikipedia

Hi, it’s Harry Silhouetteof-Wolfhowlingonthehill.  I saw a trailer for a film called The Grey today, and thought it might be about our Grey, currently starring in the Werewolf of Oz, as it has been involved in such an incredibly epic soloish ramble for over a year.

The Grey is not about our Grey

As it turned out, I was doubly disappointed.  Not only is it not about our Grey, but it looks like it is about some humans trying to survive in Alaska with wolves attacking them.

I have only seen a trailer, so might be getting it wrong, and maybe the film will have a more understanding message about wolves than it looks.

The Human-Wolf Relationship is the Reverse

Hopefully most people will know that wolf attacks on humans are very rare, while wolves have been exterminated in most parts of the world with any sizeable population of humans, and have now moved to the harsh fringes of the world to try and survive.

Although we support the right to make such a film under freedom of speech, we just hope it won’t do to wolves what Jaws did to sharks.  Defenders of Wildlife are having enough trouble trying to save wolves from further persecution without films that may demonise them.

Alaska is a Battleground for Wildlife

It is also ironic that it is set in Alaska, as some members of the state have tried to continue the aerial shooting of wildlife after most states complied with it being made illegal in 1971.

On the Defenders of Wildlife website page about aerial gunning they report:

In March 2011, The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced its decision not to allow the State of Alaska to kill wolves on Unimak Island, a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The decision was underpinned by sound science…