BBC Earth: Expedition Wolf – Land of the Lost Wolves (2012)

Directed by: Rowan Musgrave, Sanna Handslip | 100 minutes | documentary

Few animals have evoked more emotions in humans over the centuries than the oft-maligned wolf. Especially in Western Europe, the wild ancestor of our modern dog breeds has often been depicted as a demonic killer who loved the blood of children, cattle and young virgins. In addition, the wolf also plays the role of classic villain in many age-old fairy tales that are part of our cultural tradition. Certainly when man had made the almost complete transition from hunter to farmer, the wolf was largely exterminated in large parts of Europe. In North America, wolves didn’t fare much better after the immense country was overrun by European settlers and shady fortune seekers. Like the original inhabitants of the continent, wolves were killed in droves and charismatic predators fell victim to the fervent immigrant desire to rein in the American wilderness. The western aversion to the wolf, largely born of ignorance, is in stark contrast to the respect that the Indians have for their hairy ‘brothers’. They see the wolf as the incarnate embodiment of the skilled hunter, a predator that kills only to survive and lives in harmony with the ecosystem on which it depends. Moreover, most Indians also have an eye for the complex character of wolf society and the tenderness that the animals can display in the mutual contacts with conspecifics.

Fortunately, the wolf can now also count on more appreciation and understanding in Europe and the United States, partly because science has succeeded in dispelling many myths surrounding this illustrious hunter over the decades. For example, ecologically, wolves are of great importance in regulating wild ungulate populations. Recent research by ecologists in Yellowstone shows that the reintroduction of wolves has given a huge boost to local biodiversity. Thanks to the return of the wolf, the number of wapitis (American red deer) is again under control. In addition, the predation pressure means that the deer often use other feeding areas, which has resulted in a significant increase in the variety of plant species, biotope types and animal species in many places. Wolf hunting pressure also ensures that only the strongest and fittest grazers survive, ultimately benefiting the health of populations as a whole because weak specimens do not get the chance to pass on their genes. The BBC documentary ‘Expedition Wolf’ focuses primarily on the return of the wolf in the American state of Washington. In recent years, wolf packs have made the crossing from Canada to the nature-rich state in the north of the United States. Besides the necessary beautiful pictures of howling, growing and hunting wolves, ‘Expedition Wolf’ also shows the sharp dichotomy that the return of the animal in the United States still creates. On the one hand are the ecologists and nature lovers, people who welcome the return of the wolf and see this development as a crown on the conservation work. However, many livestock farmers and pleasure hunters still have a deep hatred, as evidenced by a number of spicy statements made by people from this camp in the documentary. Although the presenters and creators of ‘Expedition Wolf’ are wolf enthusiasts, the documentary does its best to shed light on both sides of the coin and to seriously examine the arguments of wolf skeptics. The film also shows that tracking down and filming wolves is truly an expedition, because in order to find the shy and elusive animals, you may have to camp for days in a modest shelter or with a thirty kilogram heavy, just like cameraman Gordon Buchanan. camera equipment has to plow uphill for hours through a heavy layer of snow.

When it comes to the way of life and behavior of wolves, ‘Expedition Wolf’ could have gone a little more in-depth, but that does not alter the fact that it has become a strong, excellently balanced documentary that shows that humans are still a complicated love-hate relationship with one of the world’s most powerful land predators.