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Archive for March 15th, 2011

Little Red Riding Hood’s Ongoing Story

Posted in Wolves and educational activities on March 15, 2011| 2 Comments »


You have all heard the Little Red Riding Hood story, right?  But have you really?

In your version, does Little Red trick the wolf and escape? Does she get gobbled up with her granny?

Folktales are stories that pass from one generation to another and from one country to another by word of mouth. These stories may have changed over time as storytellers adapted them for their own purposes. It wasn’t until the 1800s that folktales were written down for the first time, allowing hundreds of generations of storytelling and story adapting to take place before that. You can often find several versions of the same story because there is no one “right” version of a traditional folktale. Each one represents the time, place and person telling it. Examining the cultural values expressed in a folktale will help you understand the story and its underlying messages better. The classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood is a good example of a story that

reflects cultural values. Most versions of the story can be traced back to the 1600s to the farming areas of central Europe. The people of that time and place possessed a general dislike for wolves due to the wolf’s predation on farm animals. So the wolf was universally considered a villainous character. The story also gives us insight into other cultural values such as the role of women and children in society. Some versions emphasize the vulnerability of little girls to moral perils in the world. Others demonstrate the

dangers of talking to shady characters. The oldest known versions of the story stress the importance of

clever, resourceful thinking in getting a person out of a difficult situation. No matter which version of Little Red Riding Hood you find, be sure to look deeper than its face value, and consider the underlying cultural values expressed to get a full understanding of the story’s meaning.

 Try this!

Go to your library, and check out as many different versions of the Little Red Riding Hood story as you can find. Look for versions in children’s picture books as well as in folktale collections in the 398.2 section of the library. Read through at least four different versions of the story, and discuss with a friend:

 How are the stories different? Describe one or two lessons that each version of the story teaches.

  Speculate about the time, place and person telling these stories…what do you guess might be true? How does the artwork accompanying the story contribute to your impression of Red or the wolf?

 **Special thanks to Kevin Strauss for providing this information! (http://www.wolf.org/wolves/learn/justkids/wild/wildkids_spring2007.pdf)

 Kevin Strauss is a naturalist, author and storyteller from Ely, Minnesota. Visit the “Shop” section of www.wolf.org to purchase his book Song of the Wolf: Folktales and Legends from Around the World, and audio CD The Mountain Wolf’s Gift: Wolf Tales from Around the World. Contact him at kevin@naturestory.com.

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Take Action By April 30th Deadline–Tell The Forest Service To Protect Mexican Wolves

Posted in Wolf Current Events, Wolf Preservation Efforts on March 15, 2011| 1 Comment »


“In his recent “A 21st Century Strategy for America’s Great Outdoors” announcement, President Obama emphasized the urgency for the Federal government to “Use science-based management practices to restore and protect our lands and waters for future generations.”

To support this vision, Forest Planning Alternatives—especially in the wolf recovery area in the Apache-Sitgreaves Forests— must include restoration of resilient ecosystems that restore natural processes, including native species, predation, and wildlife connectivity. 

Forests need top predators. The full-scale removal of wolves and fewer mountain lions have compromised the integrity of our wild lands. In Yellowstone National Park, reintroduced wolves keep elk moving and prevent excessive grazing in riparian areas and wetlands, allowing willows and cottonwoods to return to streambeds. This in turn, supports the return of beaver, fish, and birds. Wolves are critical to healthy ecosystems!!!!

Tell the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest that the current range of alternatives is simply not acceptable.

1. The alternatives are skewed toward the maximum mechanical treatment/resource extraction/ motorized alternative that includes illegal declassifying of Inventoried Roadless Areas. This skewing imperils our Mexican gray wolves and is NOT acceptable.

2. Wolves need wilderness and large roadless areas. Include all of the 36 possible wilderness areas and wilderness additions.

3. Wolves need more protection because of the critical role they play in healthy forests; the plan needs to directly address changes that will help with the recovery of this species:
• Developing and enforcing a closed pasture calving and season,
• Reducing the number of livestock in areas of conflict with wolves,
• seasonal grazing only,
• Requiring grazing permittees to dispose of, or render unpalatable, all livestock carcasses before wolves are able to begin scavenging on them.
• Supporting and encouraging voluntary retirement of allotments.

Website: www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/plan-revision
E-mail: asnf.planning@fs.fed.us
Phone: (928) 333-4301        TTY: (928) 333-6292″

**Thank you to “Lobos of the Southwest” for providing this information!
http://www.mexicanwolves.org/index.php/news/153/51/Take-Action-by-April-30-Deadline

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Unimak Wildlife To Managed By Scientific Understanding Of Caribou Decline

Posted in Wolf Current Events, Wolf Preservation Efforts on March 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »


“The US The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has decided to take no action in response to the state’s proposal to kill wolves in on Unimak Island, a unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Defenders of Wildlife supported the decision.

Neither the science nor the FWS’s policies could justify enacting the state’s proposal to kill wolves. The FWS has opted instead to devote further study into understanding the underlying causes of the Unimak caribou decline.The FWS’s measured approach is far more likely to produce a healthy ecosystem balance on Unimak Island in the long term, thereby benefiting subsistence hunters and all others who expect healthy wildlife populations on the national wildlife refuge. Killing wolves without understanding the cause of caribou decline ignores one of the primary purposes of this national wildlife refuge: conserving wildlife and habitats and their natural diversity.”

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (March 8, 2011) – The following is a statement from Defenders of Wildlife Alaska Representative Theresa Fiorino in response to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision:

“This is a good decision for Alaska. When wildlife management is guided by sound science, everybody wins in the long term.

“By taking this measured, comprehensive view, we are far more likely to solve long-term conservation challenges. Scientists know that meddling in the complex balance between predators and prey can actually exacerbate problems where they do exist, especially on island ecosystems like Unimak.

“Each time wolves are killed prematurely, before scientists can determine whether a decline in moose or caribou is part of a natural cycle, we deny ourselves the ability to truly understand the heart of the problem. Not only does this do a disservice to wildlife, but also to the Alaskans who rely on some wildlife for subsistence. Thankfully, this way forward should provide answers and, crucially, avoid creating new problems.”

**Special thanks to “wildlifewatch” and “Defenders of Wildlife” for providing this information.

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