Wolf Shoppe: Journals

Season of the Wolf/Spring
Model: J-202
$14
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Alpha Wolf Mother
Keeper of the Clan,
Blood readies in your strong muscles
for the hunt.
But you must stay behind
and tend the future, the clan young.
See them go
the others of your family.
They will hunt food for you this night.
Each must tend to the responsibilities
of this common life
giving up ones’ desires,
hunting, birthing, killing, dying,
for the sake of the Clan.
You are part of a family
that lives beyond all individual lives,
and this Clan’s spirit is incarnated each Spring,
in the bodies of the young,
born from you, and you only,
Alpha Wolf Mother.

Art by Linda Matusich ©1998
Text by Diane Gibbons

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Season of the Wolf/Autumn
Model: J-204
$14
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Falling,
like leaves on Autumn winds,
once we were the most widely distributed mammal
on the whole Earth.
Below are the valleys of cows,
Below are the dark-clouded cities,
Below are the Ones who Forget,
Below is death.
Yet,
falling,
we rise.
We walk in spirit form
and speak to our descendants,
We run through the memories of the forests,
the winds howl our songs,
and shamans still seek our wisdom.
We fall,
but we will never die.

Art by Linda Matusich ©1998
Text by Diane Gibbons

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Seasons of the Wolf/Winter
Model: J-201
$14
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The Northern Spirits have brought the snows
and the long cold
and the waiting.
Hunger may live in us up to two weeks
as we try and try again
to find the prey which will offer itself up to become
Wolf flesh.
Hunger grows in us for more than food, as well.
Soon we, Alpha male and female of this Clan,
will feel the pull to join,
the warmth of fur, the play, the mating, the joy.
The promise of the future
an instinct in our blood,
and the hope of the Wild burns in us like fire,
through the long, cold nights of Winter.
art by Linda Matusich ©1998
text by Diane Gibbons

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Tatanka - Snow Buffalo
Model: J-241
$14
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The American Buffalo, or Bison (Bison bison) is called “Tatanka” by the Lakota (Sioux) American Indian people. It formerly ranged across most of the U.S., northern Mexico and central Canada.
The buffalo is one of the most important animal symbols in American history and in many Indian cultures. For the Plains Indians, the buffalo was considered sacred, because their way of life, religion and culture depended on, or revolved around the great herds. Virtually everything the Plains Indians needed to survive in their difficult environment, the buffalo gave them; including food, clothing, bone tools and hides to cover their teepees.

Before the Civil War, there may have been over 40 million buffalo in the West alone. After the war, huge numbers of settlers pushed westward on to lands long occupied and now owned through treaties by the different Plains Indian tribes. As treaty after treaty was broken, and the white settlements grew, the Indians and great buffalo herds were forced into ever-shrinking wild country. At this time, hundreds of buffalo hunters also swarmed the Plains, resulting in the greatest slaughter of wildlife the world has ever known.

By 1885, the buffalo were, incredibly, now rare and the Plains Indians’ primary food source was gone. The buffalo had been intentionally exterminated to make room for livestock and to destroy the Indians’ way of life. Through starvation and constantly being hunted down by the U.S. Army Cavalry, the Plains Indians were forced to live on the small reservations, most of which were waterless, harsh lands unwanted by the settlers.

Since then, the resilience and strength of the Indian cultures have resisted both annihilation and assimilation into the predominant white cultures around them. Likewise, the buffalo are returning in ever-greater numbers on preserves and ranches throughout America.
The lives and fates of the buffalo and the Plains Indian cultures have always been connected and woven together. The buffalo is the physical embodiment and animal symbol of the abundance, generosity and power of the Universe from the Creator. The buffalo is our relation, and it is Sacred.

Artwork by Andy Wenner (c) 2003
Text by Michael DeMunn (Dahad'nyah)

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White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Model: J-71
$14
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One of the most abundant large mammals in North America, the white-tailed deer, ranges over much of the continent. Thirty subspecies are recognized of which 17 are found north of Mexico. White-tails are more plentiful today than when Europeans first settled the New World. The cutting of forests and farming have favored deer populations as deer are offered more resources in fields and wood’s edges than deep forests.

Early morning and dusk are the usual time of peak activity. Browse of trees and shrubs are favorite food sources over grasses although corn and alfalfa are eaten. Male deer, or bucks, grow a new set of antlers each year. The number of points and the size of the rack is more an indication of nutrition than age. The female, or doe, gives birth to 1-4 spotted fawns in the late spring. The fawns are placed in the woods or fields by the doe. She returns only to nurse them. Their spotted coats and habit of lying still protects them from most harm. At 3 weeks of age fawns begin to follow the doe. By early fall the fawn’s spots disappear.

The reddish-brown coat of young and adults is gradually replaced by a grayish-brown coat. These hairs are less numerous but are hollow. The trapped air inside each hair gives the deer superb protection from the cold. White-tailed deer depend on alertness and speed to elude predators. They can reach speeds of 35 to 40 mph and can easily jump 8 feet. When they are startled they quickly dash off usually just far enough to reach protective cover. The long tail is sometimes flashed upright showing a white underside to signal other deer of alarm.

Artwork and text by Cindy Page (c) 1992

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Calling for the Lost Ones
Model: J-78
$14
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Wolves are synonymous with wilderness, and their voices call forth something primordially wild to human ears. Large, canny, mammal predators like us, they are also social creatures who communicate vocally. Wolves are representative of that which is best left untamed, most beautiful and most wise when left wild and free.

Today, when so much life on our planet is threatened, we might well hear in the plaintive howling of a single wolf something of the world’s own grief for what has been lost.

Nor is it any wonder that the call of the wild should stir a response from our own wild hearts.

Artwork by Linda Matusich (c) 1993
Text by Peter Fortunato

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Mountain Lion (Felis concolor)
Model: J-258
$14
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Cougar, catamount, puma, panther, screamer—all are names given to this shy and elusive predator. Unable to roar, the puma is capable of an unimaginable, penetrating scream. Largest of the North American wild cats, a male can weigh over 200 pounds and measure 8' from nose to tip of tail. They have keen eyesight and are amazingly fast; they can jump vertically up to 15' and horizontally up to 40'!

Mountain lions are remarkably adaptable to a wide range of habitats from Canada to South America, including northern alpine forests, deserts and tropical forests. Once hunted to near extinction, populations are now making a comeback. Formerly distributed throughout North America, the mountain lion is now mostly found in remote areas of the western U.S. as well as western Canada and much of Mexico. A small population still exists in southern Florida where the species is considered endangered. There have even been reported cougar sightings in the eastern U.S. where they were thought to be extinct. Habitat destruction and development are currently the main threats to mountain lion populations; these factors have also served to block wildlife corridors especially important for cougar immigration.

Except during the breeding season, this cougar is a solitary animal staking out a home range that for males may cover more than 100 square miles. The male’s range generally encompasses the smaller ranges of several resident females. Females commonly have 2-3 kittens; after weaning at 2 months of age, the youngsters learn the ways of the cougar by accompanying their mother until they are 18-24 months old at which time they leave to establish their own range.

Mountain lions are most active from dusk to dawn, roaming their home area through the night in search of prey. Deer are their prey of choice but they also hunt wild hogs, raccoons, rabbits, porcupines, bighorn sheep, elk, rodents and birds. The secretive cougar prefers to ambush its prey, often from behind. When free-roaming domestic cattle are allowed to range they rank high on the list of prey animals for the puma; the killing of livestock is one of the principle reasons for human aggression against these large cats.

Can we learn the lesson that this beautiful and unique predator has for us; balance?
artwork by Linda Matusich (c) 2004
text by Steve Sierigk

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Timber Wolf (Canis lupus)
Model: J-17
$14
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Wolves are intelligent, sensitive, highly social creatures. These largest members of the dog clan measure 5 to 6 1/2 feet from nose to tip of tail and may weigh more than 100 pounds. They were once found from Greenland to Vancouver, from the Arctic to Mexico, occurring in each of the 48 contiguous states. Long the victim of an undeserved reputation as a vicious killer, the now endangered wolf has been reduced to a small fraction of its former range.

Wolves have one of the most elaborate social organizations of all animals. They live in packs, cohesive units led by a dominant male and female who remain mated for life. These packs may contain up to 30 members, though they usually number fewer than 8. The pups are born in the spring and are treated warmly by their elders, from whom they learn survival and social skills.

The wolf’s food consists of a variety of animals ranging from small rodents and rabbits to deer, caribou and moose. The cooperative wolf pack is a refined, methodical and opportunistic hunting unit which tests potential prey animals to assess their vulnerability. Generally the wolves have little chance of catching large prey in healthy condition; usually they capture unhealthy, less-fit individuals, thereby improving the overall health and stability of the prey population. Wolves have coexisted in balance with their prey for thousands of years.

Wolves are not the savage killers of legend; they kill what they need and little more. Unfortunately much anti-wolf sentiment exists which is based on deep-seated emotions. As North America was settled, much of the wolf’s wild prey was replaced by domesticated stock. In the absence of their natural prey wolves turned to occasional sheep and cattle. The misunderstood wolves have been the target of massive poisoning, trapping and hunting campaigns, sanctioned until recently by government bounties. It is ironic that primitive hunters who competed with the wolves every day regarded their presence with respect.

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