Circle of Trust

I’ve been researching wolves for a few weeks…not totally sure why other than how much this time of year reminds me of the challenges we face. It’s cold. It’s dark. Boredom can come fast. Isolation too. At the same time, I’ve grown to love the Winter. It’s simple. It’s clear. It allows focus and creativity to fill the vast emptiness that surrounds us. It provides opportunity to be with others in new ways to survive and thrive when others feel they have died.

Much like a wolf pack does through harsh conditions.

I’m sharing some of what came from this link below about wolves. You will find some similarities to yourself and the brotherhood here at F3. Keep accelerating, especially when others are not.

In closing…I ask that we all give one wolf pack howl together on our way out and into the rest of this day…[Now the neighbors are awake…]

https://www.nathab.com/blog/8-incredible-wolf-facts-everyone-should-know/

1. True love

Once a wolf has found a mate, they tend to stay together for better or worse, through sickness and health, often until death due them part.

2. Wolves will die for each other

In addition to a trend toward monogamy, wolves develop such strong social bonds for their family and other loved ones, they have been known to sacrifice themselves for the survival of the pack / family unit.

Photo taken in Yellowstone National Park, (c) Ray Doan

3. It’s all in the howl

Perhaps the most well known characteristic of the grey wolf is its penetrating, hauntingly beautiful howl. This is a primary communication tool, both between lone wolves and their pack, as well as between packs. When it comes to territory, inter-pack howling will determine the size and strength of different pack, often determining to attack or retreat.

4. Wolves are as long as really tall people – but much faster

While the average length of female wolves is 4.5 to 6 feet from nose to tail, males can grow up to 6.5 feet in length. This is partly why they can sprint at speeds of 36 to 38 miles per hour for short distances, though unless they are on the chase they tend to cruise at a more leisurely pace of about 5 mph.

5. Marathon runners

Although the above-noted speed is not super fast for a top predator (a cheetah can travel at up to 75 mph in short bursts), wolves are ultra marathon endurance hunters. They have been known to track and trace their prey for hours well into the night. And they have the added bonus of a high IQ and excellent sense of hearing and smell, all of which they put to good use in rounding up their next meal.

6. ‘Wolfing’ it down

Wolves can eat a huge amount, as much as 9 kg, in one sitting, thus the saying. The alpha male is first to eat and will devour the most meat out of the pack, followed by other pack members and or other scavengers. Although this is partly to blame for their bad reputation, it is really a survival tactic, as they never know when their next meal will be and often it is days before they eat again.

7. Oh, grandmother, what big hands you have!

If you’ve ever seen a true wolf paw print, it’s enough to make the hair on your back stand on ends, as their average foot size is comparable to an adult human hand, at 4 inches wide by 5 inches long

Photo of wolves’ (mother and cub) paw prints taken on Nat Hab’s Yellowstone Wolf & Wildlife Safari. (c) Paul Brown

8. Even bigger houses

If you thought you live in a McMansion, try to imagine a property that extends up to 1000 square miles. In Canada and Alaska their territory extends 300 to 1,000 square miles, with a more modest 25 to 150 square mile territory in Minnesota. Living, hunting and playing in packs as highly social animals, they often travel up to a dozen plus miles a day.

Once widespread throughout North America, Europe and beyond, the grey wolf now exists only in parts of the USSR, North America and Eastern Europe, where it continues to retain its legendary and mythological status among the animal kingdom.

Lastly, this is my favorite part…

On no occasion are the social bonds of wolves more clear than during a pack rally. A rally occurs when the pack howls together in chorus. It is a call to assembly, a territorial claim, a declaration of solidarity, and a celebration of being alive and being together

Prayers