Wenn der Wolf Kommt

Notes on wolf selection by Carlo Gubetti

The wolf has recently made its spontaneous reappearance in the Western Alps. The return of this large predator restores an important balance factor to the ecosystem and indicates an overall improvement in the area's conditions, but above all it highlights the environment's ability to regenerate itself autonomously as soon as man leaves room for the development of free natural dynamics. In fact, the return of the wolf represents a happy episode that was in no way planned or favoured by direct human intervention. A happy episode that we can all rejoice in: even if very few will have the adventure of seeing a wolf in the wild, going into a forest knowing that you are sharing space with a wild presence, the bearer of an absolutely different diversity, in fact gives those places a fascination and a wealth of stimuli that we had forgotten. And this is because, in addition to the environmental aspects, the wolf also involves an emotional and cultural level, testified to by its presence in legends, myths and in artistic and cultural productions throughout the ages.

Relations between man and this species are in fact very complex and date back to a period long before the establishment of close relationships with other animals. The earliest tribal hunter-gatherer communities developed a strong sense of respect and identification with wolves, skilled hunters whose behaviour – complex social relationships, cooperation in hunting and rearing cubs – was remarkably similar to that of human societies. This admiration gave rise to forms of worship and magical-initiative rituals that became established in various geographical areas, and that in many primitive populations have survived until recent times. The wolf is in fact the totemic animal of many American Indian tribes as well as in many shamanic cults of Central Asia and Siberia. But with the prevalence of shepherds' societies characterised by rigid patriarchal structures, dualistic forms of thought took over: on the one hand man with his herds and the land cleared and transformed into pastures, the first cities and the new anthropomorphic deities; on the other hand the “outside”, the wilderness to be subjugated and exploited, the ancient deities and the wolves, no longer admired hunters, but feared predators of the flocks. This process came to fruition with the rise of the Christian religion, which adopted the single, male god of the warrior-shepherd tribes of Palestine and turned previous forms of worship upside down, demonising the pre-existing rites and deities. From the totemic animal par excellence – the progenitor of mankind and into which the shaman or sorcerer would transform himself in order to come into contact with the sphere of the divine – thus arose the figure of the demonic wolf, the one who would become the werewolf, the man capable of transforming himself into an animal and vice versa. The effects of this demonisation were felt again heavily in the 16th and 17th centuries, when thousands of witches and werewolves were burnt by the Inquisition.

From cult object to demonic creature, thus originates that ambivalence of conflicting passions, of love and hate, that connotes the presence of the wolf also in cinema. Already in Stuart Walker's Werewolf of London (1935) the protagonist is driven by the irrepressible impulse to kill the people he loves most. From the world of wolves echoes a sort of call of the primordial forest that addresses the wolf within us with the powerful seduction to seek the immediate satisfaction of instinctual drives. This is the basic outline of the long series of films about the wolf-man (between horror and horror parody), in which the protagonist yearns to live by following his passions, but is inexorably condemned to defeat (an emblematic title in this sense is Terence Fischer's The Curse of the Werewolf, 1961). A different outcome occurs with Wolf by Mike Nichols in which the wolf-Nicholson positively asserts his animality. Like the shamans of yesteryear, Nicholson acquires the qualities that the totemic species possesses to a great extent, but these remain subject to his will – if not to his control as a rational being – which makes a positive outcome possible: the wolf-Nicholson does not repress his passions, destroys those who betray him and loves with all his enhanced faculties. But the wolf does not limit his presence to horror films, and makes his forays across all genres, as shown by the selection of works presented in Panorama [Cinemambiente 1998], which includes documentaries, feature films and cartoons.

Even in the classic American cartoons of the 1930s and 1940s, apparently light-hearted and amusing, the wolf's drive component emerges: from Disney to Tex Avery the wolf gives expression to every strong and violent feeling, it is a wolf that «moves like a madman out of hunger not only for food, but above all for sex», as Marco Giusti says in the presentation of his Bloobcartoon Lupi. A losing but not defeated character, always vital in chasing the escape lines of desire.

In The Wolves (1956) by Giuseppe De Santis, the concept of the wolf emerges in the pastoral culture of a village in the Marsica region: the focus here is on the social dynamics and values of the rural tradition, in which the figure of the "luparo" emerges as an authoritative character respected by the entire community.

Lastly, Andreas Moser's documentary Wenn der Wolf kommt (1997) introduces us to the wolf animal immersed in the beautiful landscape of the Tuscan hills, offering some unusual footage – who would have imagined that wolves, in addition to children and Little Red Riding Hoods, eat apples? Even in this wolf in the flesh we can recognise the wolf in us, cases like the wolves of Disney, Freleng, Tashlin, Nichols, Jones, Giusti and Avery.

The return of the wolf by Franco Mari and Cristina Del Corso

«He is cunning, cautious, bloodthirsty and fierce, and he undermines the big game all the way to the place where it is lodged. He then assaults it by the throat and in a moment kills and devours it. When it is not hungry it is rather timid and cowardly». This image of the wolf is taken from a scientific text from the first decades of this century and reflects the attitude toward this animal that has been passed down over time through fables and tales.

This atavistic fear combined with the fact that it was considered “noxious”, in that it took wild prey from humans and harmed their flocks, translated in reality into a continuous and methodical extermination of the wolf in the territory. Slashings, guns and poisoned baits have brought this species to the threshold of extinction. While in the last century the wolf was present throughout the country, excluding Sardinia, by the early 20th century it had already disappeared from the Alpine arc, where the last certain killing occurred in 1921 in the Maritime Alps. In 1950 wolves also eliminated it permanently from Sicily: this decrease in numbers and distribution continued until the late 1960s, when the species numbered no more than a hundred individuals, perched in the wildest areas of the central-southern Apennines. In addition to direct persecution, these last specimens had to survive in an environment where the populations of deer, roe deer and wild boar, their potential prey, were now extremely small and there was still some human exploitation of the mountain territory.

Scientific studies conducted in recent years have brought out the true nature of the wolf and its fundamental role in ecosystem conservation. It has proven to be an intelligent animal with complex social relationships and a pack organized according to a precise structure, which maintains and defends its own territory. Within it there are two different hierarchical lines, one male and one female, each dominated by the higher-ranking individual, alpha male and alpha female, who impose themselves on their respective subordinates through ritualized behaviors that tend to limit the aggression existing between members of the herd. The formation of stable hierarchical relationships is important for reproduction; in fact, only the dominant male and female breed, and only once a year. This guarantees the herd the best litter genetically and a kind of self-regulation of births aimed at preventing excessive density of the species. Indeed, carnivores, unlike herbivores, are generally distributed with few individuals over vast territories. But how can this birth control take place on a practical level? How is it possible that with all females in oestrus only one mating occurs? To answer this, one must reason in terms of “sexual preferences”: in years of observations in the Abruzzo Park wildlife area, it has been observed that the courtship of males is directed exclusively toward the best female, and vice versa for females. And the alpha male obviously vigorously represses any attempt to court the alpha female by other males.

All this takes place in March, and between late May and early June the alpha female gives birth to 2 to 7 cubs. However, it is the entire pack that takes charge of their development, bringing the cubs the necessary food until they are able to take part in hunting. They are able to adopt and elaborate different hunting strategies depending on the prey and the situation, this reveals their intelligence and brings out the fundamental role that the wolf plays in maintaining the balance of the environment. Having identified potential prey, a series of attacks is used to isolate the weakest individual (usually elderly or sick animals), on which attacks are then focused. In this way the wolf performs a positive action of selection of the prey population, favoring the survival of the strongest and at the same time preventing the spread of disease. It also prevents the excessive increase of herbivores, which, if not restricted, would end up damaging the forest by preventing its development and regeneration, with serious damage to the ecosystem.

Studies conducted in Italy since the 1970s have revealed a wolf that, due to lack of prey, had to adapt to feeding on garbage and avoided any possible contact with humans, thus disproving beliefs about its supposed dangerousness. Howling then has no threatening meaning, as is often believed, but is simply one of the communication systems that wolves use to signal their presence and possession of territory to other individuals of the species. This feature is exploited by researchers to verify their presence and consistency in an area, through a technique called wolf-howling, recorded howls are emitted, thus stimulating the response of any wolves present.

Thanks to the knowledge about the wolf's ecology and behavior that has emerged from these studies and a targeted press campaign, its image has been reevaluated. This, together with the spread of a new ecological consciousness throughout the country, led to the nationwide wolf protection decree in 1971. During that period, the gradual abandonment of the mountains by humans returned large areas to wildlife, which began to increase in numbers and distribution, thanks in part to the releases of deer, roe deer and wild boar by humans for hunting and restocking purposes. The combination of these factors has resulted in a favorable condition for the survival of the wolf population, which can now begin to increase and expand again throughout the Apennines. In the 1980s the wolf's presence was consolidated in the Ligurian Apennines, in 1990 a specimen was sighted in the Alta Valle Pesio Park in Piedmont, and in 1992 the first sighting of two specimens was made in the Mercantour National Park in France. Meanwhile in the Eastern Alps, specimens are reported in Slovenia near the Italian border. Currently some animals are present in the province of Cuneo in the Upper Pesio Valley Park and the Stura Valley, probably roaming between France and Italy, and in the province of Turin in the upper Chisone and Susa valleys. Monitoring wolves is extremely difficult: researchers, parks, universities, regions and provinces are engaged in study projects to arrive at the best management strategies compatible with both protecting the species and safeguarding human activities such as pastoralism.

Now the public wants to know more about this predator and its whole world, hence the proliferation of articles in the press, its new role in cinema (how can we not remember “Two Socks” from Dances with Wolves!) and documentaries broadcast in numerous television programs dealing with nature. There is, however, an inaccuracy to be pointed out regarding the latter: mostly splendid films with spectacular images are offered, but they are made mainly in North America, while those shot in Italy are rare. In this way, a reality quite different from the Italian one is communicated, in which, with few exceptions, there are no conditions of prey and territory suitable for the formation of large herds like those filmed in North America. In Italy the flock is generally formed by the pair with the young that, if food availability permits, remain with their parents, otherwise they are forced to move away in search of new territories. The availability of new territories will lead to a further increase in the population, which is currently estimated at around 500 individuals.

However, it should not be forgotten that this return may cause problems for breeders, who should not be the only ones to take on this presence. That is why, while it is important that there be, from all parties involved, maximum cooperation to identify and activate all measures to prevent possible damage to livestock, it is the whole community that must take charge of the different aspects of this phenomenon.

We have on loan this world for our children, and among our tasks is to make sure that, while respecting everyone's interests, they too can one day listen to the howling of wolves on winter nights.

Franco Mari and Cristina Del Corso are researchers involved in the project on wolf monitoring in the province of Cuneo.