Trapped in a fence with eight obviously wild wolves, the situation was becoming unsustainable … and I called desperately for the animal attendant to let me out!
At the beginning of my career as a wolf lecturer, I was in great need of wolf photos. Photographing wild wolves was very difficult so I asked a zoo, and as a wolf tracker I got the benefit to photograph wolves in a zoo fence. I was brought into a pack of about eight wolves. A wolf pack that had not grown accustomed to humans (sometimes puppies are snatched up to become more social to humans and easier for visitors to see) The animal attendant locked the gate after me and left his phone number, it was only to call when I wanted him to let me out.
I had the same equipment as when I was in the wilderness, the same type of clothing and a camera with 300 mm telephoto lens. When I started sneaking after the wolves to take my pictures, I immediately discovered that it was a disastrously bad idea. They rushed around like crazy and were completely frightened!
After a few fruitless attempts, I gave up. It was pointless and the wolves also so stressed that I decided to cancel. The few pictures I got were just as blurred and bad as the ones I managed to take on wild wolves.
After the animal attendant let me out, I snuck up on a hill far away from the wolf fence. From there it was much easier to photograph them. That a man was on the outside of the fence, the wolves were quite comfortable with.
After loads of wolf meetings in the wild, this is exactly how I know the wolf. Not as a bloodthirsty beast prepared to kill people, but instead an animal that most of all avoids us, and who are usually very careful about what is new or different from the usual.
