Lobo, The Super Wolf

[sloanrodgers]

Did anyone see this documentary on Lobo the Super Wolf the other day? It was very entertaining, sentimental and inspirational
as these types of films go, but I'm a bit skeptical on Seton's wolf tale. I love wolves (well, from a distance) and have a wolfish
black German Shepherd as a pet. I've also read a lot about wolves in the wild and some of Seton's accounts in The King of the
Currumpaw seem a bit far-fetched for wolf behavior.

Nature Documentary
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-wolf-that-changed-america/video-full-episode/4414/

[martyb]

I saw it and it was very well done.

I knew of Ernest Seton because of my research on T. Roosevelt. The wolf story was mentioned but not in so much detail. I know that most of the story was true but I had one quibble with it. The story of the poisoned bait being piled up and defecated on by a wolf showing his disdain for the hunter is a bit much (I never put human thoughts and action processes on an animal). I think the wolf was smart enough to realize that the meat was treated and tainted and protected his clan by gathering it up and making it not fit to eat (that in itself was something else).

The photo of the old boy with three (possibly four) traps was incredible.

Good show.

[sloanrodgers]

I was suspicious of Lobo, King of Currumpaw at first because of the size of this gray wolf, his odd behavior and the juvenile nature of the
narrative but have found other inconsistencies that make me question Seton's veracity. I also can't find a single contemporary account of
this supposedly infamous outlaw wolf's depredations or death and the huge $1000 bounty on his head. Why?

I only see two traps and three cur paws. (Sorry bad pun)

[martyb]

Project Gutenberg has Seaton's Book:http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3031

Wikipedia (not the most trusted source): Lobo was an American wolf who lived in the Currumpaw valley in New Mexico. During the 1890s, Lobo and his pack, having been deprived of their natural prey by settlers, turned to the settlers' livestock. The ranchers tried to kill Lobo and his pack by poisoning carcasses, but the wolves removed the poisoned pieces and threw them aside. They tried to kill the wolves with traps and by hunting parties but all failed. Ernest Thompson Seton was tempted by the challenge and the alleged $1,000 bounty to capture Lobo, the leader of the pack. He tried poisoning five baits carefully covering traces of human scent. The following day all the baits were gone, and Seton assumed Lobo would be dead. Later, however, he found his five baits all in a pile covered in other "evidence" that Lobo was responsible.

Seton bought new, specialized traps and carefully concealed them in Lobo's territory, but he later found Lobo's tracks leading from trap to trap, exposing each. The journey was initially supposed to be two weeks long, but Seton soon became tired and frustrated after months of failed attempts to capture Lobo. While camping out above the creek where snow geese and cranes were wintering, he found Lobo's track strangely following a set of smaller tracks. Quickly he realized Lobo's weakness: his mate, a white wolf named Blanca. Seton then set out several traps in a narrow passage thinking Blanca would fall for Seton's planted baits that Lobo had thus far managed to avoid. Finally Seton succeeded; Blanca, while trying to investigate Seton's planted cattle head, became trapped. When Seton found her, she was howling with Lobo by her side. Lobo ran to a safe distance and watched Seton and his men kill Blanca by breaking her neck with ropes tied to their horses. Seton heard the howls of Lobo for days afterward. Lobo's calls were described by Seton as having "an unmistakable note of sorrow in it... It was no longer the loud, defiant howl, but a long, plaintive wail." Although Seton felt remorse for the grieving wolf, he continued his plan to capture Lobo.

Despite the danger Lobo followed Blanca's scent to Seton's ranch house where they had taken the body. Seton then set more traps, using Blanca's body to scent them. On January 31, 1894, Lobo was caught with all four legs in four traps. On Seton's approach, Lobo stood despite his injuries, and howled. Touched by Lobo's bravery and loyalty for his love, Seton could not kill him. He and his men roped Lobo, muzzled him and secured him to a horse, taking him back to the ranch. Lobo refused to acknowledge his captors; they secured him with a chain and he just gazed across the prairie. In poor physical health, Lobo died that night.


Lobo's pelt is kept at the Ernest Thompson Seton Memorial Library and Museum at the Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico. Until his death in 1946, Seton championed the wolf—an animal that had always previously been demonized. "Ever since Lobo", Seton later wrote, "my sincerest wish has been to impress upon people that each of our native wild creatures is in itself a precious heritage that we have no right to destroy or put beyond the reach of our children."

Seton's story of Lobo touched the hearts of many both in the US and the rest of the world and was partly responsible for changing views towards the environment and provided a spur for the starting of the conservationist movement. The story had a profound influence on one of the world's most acclaimed broadcasters and naturalists Sir David Attenborough and inspired the 1962 Disney film, The Legend of Lobo. Lobo's story was the subject of a BBC documentary directed by Steve Gooder in 2007.

An account of Seton's hunt for Lobo is found in Ernest Thompson Seton: The Life and Legacy of an Artist and Conservationist by David L. Witt. It is based on Seton's personal journal and other historical sources. The story is also featured in an exhibition at the New Mexico History Museum running from May 23, 2010 to May 8, 2012

[sloanrodgers]

I agree. Not the most trusted source and far from contemporary. As I implied I cannot find anything on Lobo's famous pack in the early 1890s and
very little on the so-called Currumpaw Valley. This is probably Seton's unique spelling of Corrumpa for the creek by this name in Union County, New
Mexico. It does not appear to be a valley on old maps, so Seton apparently used his creative license in writing about Lobo's home. Although I have
located some of the place names mentioned in the narrative I've been unable to find any of the people, which would give the story more credibility.

It's interesting that initially Lobo was described as a rare black wolf, hence the title of Seton's 1893 painting: Black Wolf of the Currumpaw and his
later pseudonym Black Wolf, but the Lobo photo and pelt have classic gray wolf markings. I also think Seton exaggerated the size of Lobo when he
stated that this wolf had front paws that were 5 1/2 inches in length, which I believe is almost the size of a female black bear. Famous wolves with
unusual paws (Old Three Toes, Old Lefty, Old Bigfoot, Old Crip, etc.) were generally named for their distinctive footprints, but Lobo (wolf in Spanish)
and his supposedly enormous paws was simply known as being a wolf by Hispanics and Anglos. I loved to see a contemporary Hispanic account were
this famed loup-garou is called: Lobo, King of the Lobos.

[sloanrodgers]

Here's the original Lobo, King of the Currumpaws story by Ernest Thompson Seton (one of several variations of his name that he used) that appeared in
the November 1894 issue of Scribner's Magazine. It's a fun and lively read, but seems geared toward children and adults that only read newspapers and
magazines of the period. The drawings Mr. Seton executed from his recent memory of Lobo seem to depict him as being black or very dark on pages 624,
625 and 628 which seems like a big contrast to the supposed photo of Lobo, which appears in drawn form on pg. 627 of the mag. Another strange thing
about this story and related pictures. On page 626 the drawing of Blanca shows her with a trap on her right front paw, but a supposed photo from Seton
has the trap on her left rear leg. Perhaps when Seton sent off his tale of a black wolf king and his white consort, the editors at Scribner's just added the
photos to expand on the story. Anyway, this famed wolf story doesn't seem as factual as many once believed.

The King of the Currumpaw: A Wolf Story
digital.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=scri;cc=scri;rgn=full%20text;idno=scri0016-5;didno=scri0016-5;view=image;seq=00626;node=scri0016-5%3A1

Lobo story with photos and drawings of the wolves.
www.pineapplefish56.net/Setons_Lobo.html

[Paul Sylvain]

Oct 13, 2010 17:47:38 GMT -5 sloanrodgers said:

I love wolves (well, from a distance) and have a wolfish
black German Shepherd as a pet. I've also read a lot about wolves in the wild and some of Seton's accounts in The King of the
Currumpaw seem a bit far-fetched for wolf behavior.

I'm partial to wolves, too. The wolf happens to be my spirit animal.

Paul

[sloanrodgers]

Wearing glasses, I've always identified with owls because of their big eyes and not being too bright. Wolves have definitely gotten a raw deal in the Americas
with human hatred and excessive hunting to near complete wolf extinction in the New World. Of the twenty-nine species and sub-species of American wolves,
twelve are extinct and they'll never return. Populations have been coming back for the remaining groups over the last few decades, but they are still hated by
many. I think they're beautiful animals and they serve a needed purpose in wild areas.

On researching the Lobo story and wolves in general I have come upon an interesting parallel between the poor treatment of wolves and domestic dogs. Prior to
the 20th Century many people apparently didn't have the warm fuzzy feeling for man's best friend. Not only did big cities like New York City euthanize and shoot
thousands in their dog pounds they also employed men called dog-killers to roam the streets with cudgels and sometimes rifles. They mostly killed stray and mad
dogs, but sometimes unmuzzled, unleashed and barking dogs were victims. When bounties were offered for ears, no dog was safe. Even small towns employed at
least one dog-killer or may have hired freelance hit men from other communities. Dog-killers were often reviled and sometimes attacked by the owners of a slain
pet, but most communities thought these murderous employees were a necessary evil to prevent dog overpopulation and the spread of rabies. Can anyone here
imagine some thug walking up and clubbing your beloved pet simply because he was unrestrained in some manner??? It seems so barbaric and unneighborly.

[Paul Sylvain]

You know, I caught that attitude from so-called "sportsmen" in far eastern Maine in the early '90s. When I was working for the Bangor Daily News, I covered a series a meetings centering on a suggested proposal to reintroduce wolves to Washington County. The sessions were held in the University of Maine at Machias, and were packed. A few folks who love hunting and fishing, but also appreciate the balance of nature and preservation, spoke in favor of the plan. I knew some of these guys personally and I came to respect them for their vision.

However, they were in a minority. Most of the folks there were more concerned about what the wolves would do to "their" deer (as if they owned them). Many rambled on about the presence of coyotes in the area and how these "coy dogs" as some called them, already were depleting the number of available deer they could kill each fall. They didn't seem to grasp the idea that where there are wolves, there rarely is a coyote, seeing as they compete for the same food, and the wolves tend to control their territory against coyotes.

I'm rambling, but at the end of the day, the plan fizzled and died, largely because of lack of support by these folks who called themselves "sportsmen". People still fear wolves for a number of reasons, but mostly because of ignorance. I find them fascinating and reflective of many of my own traits.

Paul

[sloanrodgers]

Yea, people are not always as animal friendly as they claim to be and usually value one species over another. Humans seem
to have a subconscious fear of wolves, bears, dogs and predators with fangs, so they often suffer the most. I doubt bunnies
will ever become extinct. Wolves and coyotes are so reclusive and afraid of people that one usually never even sees them in
the wild unless you are looking for them. Of course not only were wolves blamed for the animals they took, but the ones that
were stolen, died a natural death and killed by other animals because they were a great scapegoat for the unexplained.

[Paul Sylvain]

I remember the first coyote I ever saw. I'd heard some talk in far "downeast" Maine aboiut people hearing them, but nobody really had seen one. One night, as I was driving down a secluded wooded road to the place I lived at (in ther woods) at the time, I saw what I first thought was a strange looking dog in the headlights. The road was even narrower because of heavy snow and the banks on each side. This thing had longer, gangly legs than any dog I'd ever seen. As I got closer (and before it finally scooted over the snow bank) I realized it was a coyote. I used to hear them, too, but that was the only one I ever saw in the wild.

As you said, coyotes and wolves have gotten a bad rap throughout history. In reality, few people ever really encounter them.

[sloanrodgers]

From what I've read and seen of wild wolves and coyotes they usually flee at the drop of hat. It's the domestic animals we should worry about.

[Herb]

Oct 24, 2010 16:11:32 GMT -5 sloanrodgers said:

Yea, people are not always as animal friendly as they claim to be and usually value one species over another. Humans seem
to have a subconscious fear of wolves, bears, dogs and predators with fangs, so they often suffer the most. I doubt bunnies
will ever become extinct. Wolves and coyotes are so reclusive and afraid of people that one usually never even sees them in
the wild unless you are looking for them. Of course not only were wolves blamed for the animals they took, but the ones that
were stolen, died a natural death and killed by other animals because they were a great scapegoat for the unexplained.

Well, hardly a day goes by that I don't encounter a coyote ... no wolves though ... yet.

Mostly, I ignore coyotes, except when I have young calves on the ground, then its shoot on sight. If you had ever seen a calf after it had been attacked by a coyote, you wouldn't have too much sympathy for them. Usually, coyotes will only go after young or sick animals, but they aren't quite the cowards they are sometimes portrayed as.

Unlike Wily Coyote, they are also pretty smart. A mother cow will try and defend its calf, but a pack of coyotes will coordinate their attacks to keep the mother diverted until one can dash in and drag the calf off. I 've interrupted this activity several nights. The coyotes never wander off with their tails between their legs but try to scare the human off. They won't leave until shots are fired.

They also will set up "ambushes" on domestic dogs. One coyote will "wander" into a domestic dog's territory and lure the dog into chasing it over the nearest hill, where there will be a pack waiting to kill the dog. These aren't legends. but things I've witnessed.

Environmental Extremists want to reintroduce wolves into this portion of Texas. While West Texas has the glamour, the largest number of beef cattle produced in the US is east of I35 in Texas. Reintroducing wolves into this area would be devasating. Not just to Ranchers - but also on your grocery/restaurant bills.

[sloanrodgers]

I don't think wolves and coyotes are cowardly in general, just cautious with people. I also think they are intelligent compared to most mammals and a few ignorant
people around my town. American wolves seem to have a terrible reputation as cow, sheep and people killers which doesn't seem to be completely deserved based
on the evidence I've seen. With the loss of the buffalo, habitat and other food sources I'm sure they've resorted to eating cattle on occasions. I just don't believe
they killed enough of them for the government and some hunters to justify wiping them off the North/ Central American map like they were diseased rats. There is
a place for them and other maligned predators in this country. I look forward to our wolves being reintroduced into certain national parks and other wild areas, but
I certainly would not want them placed near cattle ranches that couldn't absorb the occasional loss of a depredation. In my opinion America has lost huge swaths
of its western soul with the rampant extermination of some of the continent's native species and we should preserve the ones that still remain so that we have at
least a little natural exposure to them. I'd rather see America's unique wildlife in the wild, not only inside faraway zoos.

[Herb]

Well, I would agree with the sentiment of some wild habitat, but it's like building a new jail, whose neighborhood are you going to place it in?

Sadly, most people don't realize the economic impact of the loss of even one calf has on even a large operation (and I'm definitly not that). The basic economics is the only way a cow pays for its upkeep is if it has a calf that survives every year. In today's cattle operations, You HAVE to have a 90% calfing rate/survival rate every 12 months to even potentially have a profitable year.

Reintroducing wolves sounds like no big deal and even "romantic", but the economic impact it has is in fact a big deal. If you look in depth at some of these groups that are leading the reintroduction effort, you'll find that the negative effects on the cattle industy is an intended consequence.