2009 October | Wildlife Art Blog

Wolf society . . . very different to people think!

It is commonly thought that wolves always live in packs with a rigid hierarchy with an “alpha male”, frequent challenges to dominance, etc. This is not a correct view of natural wolf behaviour.

Wolf society can vary considerably with some wolves living alone such as old animals or young animals finding a new territory. A wolf pack is more accurately described as a nuclear family, as it usually consists of a pair and their offspring.

A typical wolf pack is around eight individuals, although up to thirty-six wolves have been sighted in a pack, depending on many factors such as availability of food, and personalities of wolves within the pack.

Unlike the commonly held idea that subordinate wolves will challenge and displace the dominant ones, this behavior has never been observed at all in the wild, and is therefore likely to be merely a result of unrelated captive wolves being put together and being unable to disperse and find their own territories when they become mature at around two years old. In the wild, the fact that the parents are dominant over their offspring is no more significant in wolves than in any other species.

Wolf packs are territorial, and will sometimes fight to the death. Almost all wolf deaths occur very near the border of their territory, and are most commonly dominant animals, who will defend their territory most aggressively. Howling is the main method of keeping wolf packs separate.

From this behavior, it can be seen that the practice of putting unrelated wolves together in a very small area in captivity is very likely to lead to unusual behaviors such as fighting over leadership which is where the commonly-held false ideas of the social nature of wolf packs come from.

Wolves will tend to live with their parent’s pack for some of their adult lives, fulfilling important roles such as helping to care for new pups, and hunting. They are prevented from breeding by the actions of the senior pair and so will tend to leave the pack in order to reproduce by finding an unrelated member of the opposite sex and a territory to start their own pack.

Wolves will often kill a member of their own pack if they act very unusually, such as being severely sick or injured.

Wolves in Asia are usually less sociable than in the New world, and are more likely to live in pairs or as individuals who occasionally socialize.

See our Blog post Wolf Photos for a superb selection of great photos of wolves.

See Wikipedia “Wolf” page for more details.

Owl images

Picasso’s owl . . . simple yet amazingly effective in capturing the essense of “owl”.

Durer’s “little owl” . . . you can really feel the personality of this little owl,

with a certain shyness, and feel the softness of its warm brown plumage.

An Asian brush painting, capturing the essense of the owl

rather than anatomical accuracy. The character of the owl and the

softness of its feathers are obvious in this beautiful portrayal.

The intense gaze of an alert snowy owl, wild and unpredictable.

The feather-lightness of a barn owl, drifting through the air on silent wings.

Barn owls roosting in the safe warmth of a barn window.

Relaxed attention, fascinating camouflaged plumage, of the great horned owl.

Soft attention, gentle alertness.

The warmth and safety of a secure roost in palm fronds.

The intense, alive eye amid the beautiful mottled plumage. Focussed, wild, watchfull.

A snowy owl fluffing up its feathers against the cold of the frozen wilderness,

powerfully capable in its superb adaption to its environment.

Ghost in the shadows, a beautiful, ethereal owl, light and boyant,

delicate and free.

Great grey owl . . . a pwoerful predator with the huge expanse of soft wings

propelling it silently into its unsuspecting prey.

An almost human character in the wise face, the gentle, quiet flight,

focus and awareness, mobility and freedom.

The incredible detail of delicately marked feathers, the other-worldy eyes alert in its environment.

A beautifully marked tawny owl, comfortable and at home in the

spring bluebells of England, the green and pleasant land.

Flight! Boyant and silent, soaring free in the air, alert for movements on the ground below.

A beautiful portrait of a snowy owl in winter, soft yet capable,

warm in the frozen wilderness of its home.

The dark and ghostly great grey owl perched silent and still on a stump,

the silent watcher in the night, its softness and beauty

belieing its powerful predatory capability.

The barn owl still yet ready to move into the air in an instant.

Lightness of motion, warm, soft silence and alert presense.

Curious about the great unknown world around them, tawny owl chicks

huddle together for warmth and companionship.

Barn Owl (Tyto alba). Poster by cARTerART print

Feathers fluffed up in the cool of the evening,

beauty and feather-light silent ability.

The stunningly bright orange eyes under the strong brows, all senses wide open in its alert beauty.

Intense yet naturally calm focus, as the barn owl comes in

to land on a familiar watching-post.

Hawk owl, its broad wings silently guiding it with powerful, capable

precision, onto its prey under the snow.

Fluffy and warm on the perch, all warm browns,

soft creams and powdery whites.

Snowy owl huddled and fluffed against the cold,

staring through narrowed eyes at its frozen wilderness home.

Silent, boyant flight, soft feathers and clearly focussed purpose.

Stare of amazement from this extraodrinary Ural Owl,

bright golden eyes in the delicately warm grey mottled plumage.

The flight of the wild snowy owl, the capable curves of the wings and

focussed attention, plumage beautiful with delicate whites and strong yet subtle blacks.

Extraordinary intensity of focus from a rare and beautiful short-eared owl in England.

Amazing beauty of brown and white plumage.

Fluffy and strange, young tawny owls watch the world go by.

Snowy owl resting, eyes half-closed in calm security, bright white plumage against the darks of the world.

Bright yellow eyes under strong brows of the buffy fish owl.

Comfortable curiosity from a northern spotted owl,

mottled plumage hiding it in the spotted light of the forest canopy.

Animal archetypes

Recent research has shown that archetypes are one of the levels of building-blocks of this entire physical-universe . . . this was known by ancient societies, we are just currently re-learning it! Archetypes are fundamental definitions that can be found anywhere on earth on any continent in any culture . . . even before that society has any degree of contact with other cultures.

Every human on earth has some degree of natural connection to one or more animal archetypes . . . it is up to each person to decide to either acknowledge and use that part of us, or be used by it. Anything which exists which you refuse to see, controls you!

Carl Jung (aka. Karl Jung) found various types of archetypes in his extensive research, including animal archetypes. He found that their influence on people is normally beyond conscious control, although it is possible, with training, to learn to control them to varying degrees (genuine shamans, etc.).

Children find it easy to identify with animals as can be seen from the fact that animals are very common elements in children’s stories from anywhere in the world. In what we think of as “primitive” civilizations animals are deified and a direct relationship with animals (as food or danger) is very necessary for survival. Although, from the data here it should be obvious that so-called “primitive” societies knew much more about certain things than most “civilized” people do today.

A totem is an element of nature (including plants, animals and other elements) which is seen to have some particular relationship with a person. The totem is not associated with a single member of a species, but with the whole species, ie. Its relationship is with the archetype rather than a specific manifestation of that archetype into a specific body.

Many cultures are well known for their use of animal archetypes including native Americans, Australian aborigines, Celtic cultures, ancient Egyptian, South American and Indian gods, Chinese civilizations and many others across the globe.

Animal archetypes include . . .

Alligator :- survival, stealth and mothering instinct

Ant :- working hard for the community

Antelope :- movement with speed, grace and awareness, and peace and harmony

Badger :- well-organized and tidy, bravery and connection with the underworld.

Beaver :- building, good at finding hidden things.

Bear :- knowing oneself, hidden and inner strength.

Bird :- freedom, and both individual and united with others.

Blackbird :- mystical and hypnotic, can traverse both unseen and seen realms.

Buffalo or Bison :- at home while traveling

Butterfly :- ability to change, grace and beauty, focusing on outcomes

Camel :- clarity of perception, centeredness

Cow :- abundance through numbers, ability to heal

Chicken :- inquisitive and observant

Cougar :- self-assured leader and ability to move unseen

Coyote :- humorous and ability to deceive (without malice).

Crane :- good fortune and long life, stability of emotions and awakening of spirituality.

Crow :- spiritual strength, creation, opportunity

Deer :- gracefully moving forward

Dolphin :- joyful in harmony with self and environment.

Dog :- unconditional love and compassion

Donkey :- dedication and persistence

Dove :- peace, compassion and sensitivity

Eagle :- messenger with far vision

Elephant :- loyalty and strength, compassion and intelligence. Power to create a path for others

Flamingo :- illusion and changed appearance

Fox :- cleverness and subtle change

Frog :- peace loving, healing and spiritually cleansing, ease of transition

Goat :- independent and sure of its grip on reality, willpower to follow-through

Gorilla :- compassionate, insightful and loyal.

Goose :- home protector, safety.

Hawk or Falcon :- awareness of truth, and protection from unwanted guests

Heron :- dynamic balance

Hippopotamus :- intuition and stability

Horse :- power and freedom by movement

Jackal :- stealthy opportunist.

Kestrel :- creative, intuitive, patient and agile.

Kingfisher :- ability with expression and fearless exploration of the unknown.

Leopard :- can see without being seen.

Lion :- fearlessness, leadership with balance, and ability to be heard.

Lizard :- elusive and willing to let go.

Llama :- self-confidence and pride

Jaguar :- communication and guidance, and the balance between flexibility and persistence.

Magpie :- intelligent and resourceful

Monkey :- ability to see what is hidden

Moth :- healing and perception

Mouse :- ability to charm and create illusions

Otter :- lightness of touch, joy and laughter, playfulness

Owl :- wisdom and insight

Panda :- willpower and ability to learn

Panther :- invisibility and shape-shifting, the power of silence.

Parrot :- confident communication

Pelican :- abundance

Rabbit :- innocence and in the moment.

Rat :- Adaptable, confident and aware

Raven :- destruction and rebuilding, mystery.

Rhinoceros :- solitude and idealism, ability to break through barriers

Robin :- joy and love

Salamander :- subtlety and dreams.

Salmon :- determination and ability overcoming things.

Scorpion :- vigilance and self-defense.

Seal :- intuition and agility

Sheep :- balance between giving and receiving

Snake :- rebirth, see without being seen

Spider :- interconnections

Swan :- serenity

Tiger :- focus and patience, power and ability

Tortoise :- determined and self-reliant, deep wisdom

Turkey :- to perceive subtleties

Turtle :- awakening of senses both physical and spiritual

Vulture :- resourceful and adaptable

Wolf :- teacher or guide, balanced between self-reliance and group effectiveness

Woodpecker :- discrimination and rhythm

Zebra :- protection and willingness to enjoy the challenges.

Wolf society . . . very different to people think!

Owl images

Animal archetypes

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