WolfQuest

On my trip to Yellowstone I have found out about a movie in the works about our beloved wolves, it appears the movie in the works, which was taken over by famous animal activist Leonardo DiCaprio is about our famous 06' wolf in Yellowstone. She was killed by a hunter after she and her mate 755m were baited out of the park. Unfortunately her radio collar was never returned back to the park to commemorate her memory, even though it would have been useless to the hunter. Right now though, Nate Blakeslee recently released the book that inspired the movie. there is the link for info on the movie:
http://www.timberwolfinformation.org/le ... olf-movie/

Moved to Wolf Multimedia.
Ugh. Because millions of dollars need to be spent on creating a movie to romanticize a wolf that was 'legally' killed for a species that needs to be delisted. Thanks for sharing, anyway. I didn't know about this. Now I'll be prepared.

I know that, the gray wolf has already been delistedn I thought at least,what makes me mad though is they shot a famous wild animal who provided valuable research opportunities on the hunting tactics of wolves. Those gps collars can be over $4,000 and she was wearing a gps collar not a cheaper telemetry collar like 754m was wearing. I just wish they made a law against killing collared wildlife. She was legally killed but talking to the watchers who were there when they found out what happened we found they were lured out with sheep and were originally going for 755m. It was heartbreaking not just for those that cared about the wolves but especially for those who put years of research into these wolves. The main issue I wanted to bring to light as well is it seems hunters are specifically targeting wolves with radio collars because its easier to find them. I need to find the article on 06' that mentioned it but Its like working on your thesis and having incomplete data because someone destroyed your experiment. And as a Biology major nothing would make me more frustrated, I do understand that gray wolves don't need protection anymore but I don't understand why they cant just hunt like adults and go after uncollared wildlife. Link for the article on 06's death: https://www.outsideonline.com/1913831/o ... amous-wolf

p.s. thanks for moving the topic I wasn't sure if it was the proper place

I also understand, but what I do not want for them to do is utilize way the animal died to push the broader issue of wolf conservation. The article you first linked did not leave much room for interpretation, especially with sentences like "Although wolves were taken off the Endangered Species List in 2011, making the killing of O-Six technically legal, the unique pathos of this story will aim to connect audiences to wildlife and its preservation." The fact that there is a "fan base" for both a story, that apparently hasn't even been penned that this movie is supposed to be based on worries me. A documentary on the issues surrounding a variety of collared wildlife would be much more beneficial, in my opinion. But I suppose it doesn't have the same ring to it as American Wolf.

Koa wrote:But I suppose it doesn't have the same ring to it as American Wolf.

I think you hit the nail on the head there Koa. Wolves and other mammals fall under the loose term "charismatic megafauna". For anyone else reading this who is unfamiliar with the term:

Wikipedia wrote:Charismatic megafauna are large animal species with widespread popular appeal, which are often used by environmental activists to achieve environmentalist goals.

That second part of the definition sounds exactly like what this movie's goal is.

Wolvencall wrote:Its like working on your thesis and having incomplete data because someone destroyed your experiment.

That is a good point as well Wolvencall, from an experimental design standpoint. I chuckled a little, thinking of my own thesis project. But I am not working with wildlife!

Mammals like wolves live a long time compared to other non-mammalian study organisms like yeast or fruit flies. Mammal studies can therefore get pretty expensive and require huge time spans for data collection. And there generally isn't that many data points to begin with (<10 to tens, vs. hundreds or even thousands that are possible in other areas of science). And getting funding for mammal work isn't easy either, but that is only what I have heard from others who do wildlife ecology work. Basically, to lose even one data point would be a loss for any wolf study.

I definitely agree that this movie is harnessing the charisma/unique social standing of this particular wolf, and to a lesser degree its scientific importance. Hopefully they use this case wolf as a model for general wildlife conservation as Koa suggested, but hard to know at this point.

Re your point about collars Wolvencall, as a non-hunter, I wonder how difficult it would be to discriminate on animals wearing tracking devices. It might be unreasonable, but I don't really know. Could depend on so many factors, like season and corresponding coat densities of the animal's.

I'm curious to see the trailers now!