Wolfman

September 17, 2008 1:23 PM

Shaun Ellisis a wolf behavior expert who raises abandoned wolf cubs and teaches them, by example, the basics of being a wolf. Here he is teaching wolf cubs how to howl. He's also been experimenting with using recordings of howling to protect farms and livestock from wolves. Awwwooooo!
posted by homunculus (36 comments total)

That howling cub is SO CUTE! Thanks for posting this.
posted by RussHy at 1:33 PM on September 17, 2008

Lethal cuteness achieved.
posted by kalessin at 1:34 PM on September 17, 2008 [2 favorites]

Does he wrestle them?

... I'd wrestle them.

Also he kind of looks like Billy Mitchell
posted by Lacking Subtlety at 1:35 PM on September 17, 2008

Feds back down on delisting wolves: The predators will continue to be protected as the government tries to rewrite a plan to remove them from the endangered species list.
posted by homunculus at 1:49 PM on September 17, 2008

Wolves could be reintroduced to Scottish Highlands
posted by homunculus at 1:51 PM on September 17, 2008

Lacking Subtlety asks: Does he wrestle them?

Indeed he does. It's a good documentary if you can get a hold of the whole thing.
posted by stumcg at 1:53 PM on September 17, 2008

Does he wear his wolf shirt?
posted by mullingitover at 2:36 PM on September 17, 2008 [5 favorites]

In the video where he's teaching the cub to howl, watch how the cub acts before and after he starts howling. Before, its twitching, whining, trying to get out of his hands, but almost immediately after its silent and you can see its listening, thinking, processing. Its cute, yes, when he howls back, but the instinctive nature of the response is almost haunting.

Anyway this is an awesome post and I want that guy's job.
posted by allkindsoftime at 2:39 PM on September 17, 2008 [3 favorites]

*claps*
posted by yhbc at 2:41 PM on September 17, 2008

I wonder if those wolf cubs now howl with a human accent.

In the meantime, this guy is teaching labrador pups how to howl for their eventual release to backyards.
posted by jamaro at 2:41 PM on September 17, 2008 [3 favorites]

aaarrrooooooo!
wolf cubs of Devon
aaarrrooooooo!
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:49 PM on September 17, 2008

Terrierman is not so enamored with Shaun Ellis
posted by hindmost at 2:50 PM on September 17, 2008 [3 favorites]

I wonder if those wolf cubs now howl with a human accent.

LoooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooool!
posted by darkstar at 2:50 PM on September 17, 2008

Wait, let me put on my retard hat for a second:

"omg but these things are savage killers! My grandfather's beetroot crop was destroyed by a pack of them, his livelihood ruined! And anyway there are human children out there who need to be taught how to howl! This hippy should get his priorities straight! I'm writing a god-damned letter!"
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:53 PM on September 17, 2008

Oh god mullingitover, I just wet myself. I'm ordering one of those babies right away!
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:58 PM on September 17, 2008

I saw the documentary about how he was alpha male of a pack of wolves for a while. That was hard work! The insight into the dynamics of the group were enlightening; for instance, the physically strongest male acts as an enforcer for the alpha male. While not being the strongest, the alpha male has the best force:intelligence ratio in the pack. Until he becomes supplanted by new blood.
posted by flippant at 3:00 PM on September 17, 2008 [1 favorite]

Thanks for that counterpoint, hindmost.
posted by homunculus at 3:00 PM on September 17, 2008

Awesome, thanks for the post. I think I have to stab my eyes out from the cuteness. Magnificent animals.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 3:03 PM on September 17, 2008

Wolf News: Wolf cub raised by pack of humans!
(nifty)
posted by Smedleyman at 3:21 PM on September 17, 2008 [2 favorites]

Her deadly wolf program: With a disdain for science that alarms wildlife experts, Sarah Palin continues to promote Alaska's policy to gun down wolves from planes.
posted by homunculus at 4:12 PM on September 17, 2008

Does he wear his wolf shirt?

I've been looking for that!!!
posted by P.o.B. at 4:20 PM on September 17, 2008

Ellis is determined to keep living with wolves. It has cost him his family and home — his partner and four children left him because of his total dedication to wolves. But he truly believes he can make a difference.

Substitute 'strippers' or 'drugs' for 'wolves' and that says it all.
posted by grounded at 5:50 PM on September 17, 2008 [3 favorites]

Thank you. The scene that allkindsoftime refers to made me ache at how amazing nature is.
posted by ltracey at 6:10 PM on September 17, 2008

Substitute 'strippers' or 'drugs' for 'wolves' and that says it all.

Um, how does that "say it all" when the sentence works equally well with 'community service' or 'the campaign against African hunger'?
posted by vorfeed at 6:24 PM on September 17, 2008 [1 favorite]

You can howl with red wolves at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks near Manteo, NC. I've been twice: it's fun and informative.
posted by woodway at 8:50 PM on September 17, 2008

holy crap that wolf shirt link is incredible. thanks mullingitover.
posted by allkindsoftime at 9:08 PM on September 17, 2008

I'm with Terrierman. The post confused me - it said "abandoned wolf cubs" but the guy's site was talking about a breeding pair having pups. A few more clicks and it was all pretty clear.

Did not read closely enough to know if the DNA is considered okay by, you know, science types.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 9:46 PM on September 17, 2008

Um, how does that "say it all" when the sentence works equally well with 'community service' or 'the campaign against African hunger'?

Yup, it does. And it still makes him a self-indulgent creep. Put another way, he's let his own kids become someone else's abandoned wolf cubs. Let's hope his kids find someone to teach them to howl and hunt and play.
posted by grounded at 9:46 PM on September 17, 2008 [2 favorites]

I just though I'd post this on account of it being a) slightly wolf-related, and b) totally awesome.
posted by fonetik at 1:54 AM on September 18, 2008

And it still makes him a self-indulgent creep.

He may be, or he may be something else entirely. If all you know about him and his former partner is what you read in these links, I don't see how you could make such a judgment. We don't know the character of their relationship or the dissolution of it, we don't know where she went and who she's with now, and we don't know anything about his kids.

National Geographic throws Shaun Ellis to the wolves:

That was when Ellis became the den mother, moving in with the pups. His devotion to the pack may have cost him his long-term relationship with the mother of his four children, though he claims that happened “for reasons beyond the wolf pack.”

Today he’s flanked by girlfriend Helen Jeffs, who supports Ellis in his preoccupation with the mammals. “These guys obviously put a tremendous strain on a relationship and loved ones, but you have to have an understanding,” he says. “And I guess she’s the true hero of everything because she has to hold it all together while I’m getting down and dirty ... with the wolves.”

He's undoubtably weird compared to the average working guy -- "Honey, I'm ho ho hoooooOOOOOOOOooooooome." --- but weird guys change the world and average working guys just live in it.
posted by pracowity at 2:15 AM on September 18, 2008

I just thought I'd post this on account of it being a) slightly wolf-related (since dogs are related to wolves), and b) totally awesome: Wellington the basset hound singing along with Billie Holliday's 'I'll be missing you.'
posted by homunculus at 9:12 AM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

I just imagine that when all the wolves are howling together a few years from now, that some of the wild raised ones are going to look at these three, and say "dude, what's with the weird human accent?"

*loves baby wolf with tongue tip stuck out*
posted by quin at 9:55 AM on September 18, 2008

Does he wrestle them?

Does he dance with them?
posted by rmless at 12:38 PM on September 18, 2008

Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen is the real-life story of an adventure writer bonding with his pack of dogs. His wife sends him to the dog house, literally, after he comes back one night from exercising the pack, which keeps running over skunks. He gets into a pissing contest with the alpha dog - again, literally. Hilarious. Highly recommended.
posted by woodway at 3:34 PM on September 18, 2008

Basic facts on the Gray Wolf and why it's one of Europe's endangered animal species.
posted by homunculus at 1:59 PM on October 2, 2008

Did Wolves Interbreed Themselves to Extinction?
posted by homunculus at 11:14 PM on October 16, 2008