In the ten years I have been a member of SoM I have not been able to understand the young member's fascination with one animal; the Wolf.
Why should that be? The wolf is intelligent,yes;but so are other animals. The Wolf is "sly", yes; so is the Tiger. The Wolf hunts in packs,yes; so does the Porpoise. The Wolf is powerful,yes;but so is the Lion.
In fact, size for size, the Wolf is no more powerful than a rat! And the bone-crushing jaws of the Hyena are far more powerful than the jaws of a Wolf!
I think that the fascination of the Wolf is the fear of the animal in Humans. That, plus the old stories of the Werewolf.
The problem is that we, as Human animals, give Human qualities to other animals.
Even birds!
What is "wise" about an owl? What is so "magnificent" about an Eagle? A Humming Bird is equally as wonderful!
Another wonderful bird is condemned as "a horrid,ugly bird", the Vulture. Many times have I heard that "Vultures eat dead flesh"; as though other animals eat "living" flesh!
"They eat rotting flesh." Actually they don't, usually.They would much rather eat a "fresh kill", but they do eat an "old kill" if it's the only available meat.
Do Humans eat only fresh meat? Any butcher will tell you that fresh meat is "as tough as old leather!". Any good Chef will tell you that meat less than a fortnight old is not worth cooking!
So let us look at all animals as being equally fascinating; whether wild or tame. I love all animals, but I would rather have my cat jump onto my lap, than a Wolf!
When I was first jumping into this new world of self discovery, finding my Power Animal or Animal Totem was on my top 5 list of things to to. The animal that came to me first was in fact a wolf (hence the username). They can be kind and quite intelligent, but also have equal potential to be wild and feral.
I could offer a plethora of theories as to why people seek out the wolf, such as wolves are becoming uncommon nowadays due to human expansion. Perhaps there is an abundance of wolf spirits now than living ones. In the end, it's mostly about what people want to learn from them. Maybe people they want to be more agressive in their daily lives to feel more confident or safe.
Then again, the wolf came seeking me out. I have learned a lot from my animal guide over the years, and some things you would not expect to learn from such an animal. Like patience, or how to give a warning to offensive people through body language rather than lashing out verbally or physically.
It is all speculation for the most part, but that is my take on the matter.
Oh goodness. I misunderstood the question then! Wolves are just big dogs with more of a wild streak to most people. Perhaps because they are so close to "man's best friend" is what draws the attraction?
That may have something to do with it. After all, domestic dogs were first bred from wolves. There is a brilliant book by Desmond Morris,"The Wolf On Your Hearthrug", the whole history of dogs.
But I still think it has more to do with "power" and the Werewolf stories.
I can understand what your saying bry but I can also say I also fit in that younger category because I've always had a fascination of felines all around the world over any other
I know I meant feline I just meant that I fit in the same category as I have only an interest in one type of animal and don't pay much attention to the rest as others only interest lies in the wolf mine only lies in cats .
Just an opinion but I believe the cause is the different cultural mythos that follow the wolf and you stack the mythos on top of the werewolf ideology and have something a majority of the world can look to as an idol. After all if you look at humanity as a hole we are just another power hungry animal and if you can personify your general ideology into another creature it gives you something to study and compare yourself to .so overall I believe it's our ancestors that set the wolf on the high pedestool and we are merely following in there footsteps. ( I may just be ranting as usual so forgive if I'm way off base)
