#38; first SNL encyclopedia article submitted, on wolf hunting

Today I have had half an article writing day, with some 900 words added to my encyclopedia article "Ulvejakt" (Wolf hunting), which I have now submitted to the editors of Store Norske Leksikon (SNL). This was writing day #38 this Autumn (starting July 1st), with a total of 9 of the writing days devoted to article writing to date.

Mention of wolf research in Vårt land

In today´s Vårt Land my research on wolves (specifically mentions of wolves in the Bible and mythology) is referred to in Karen Kilane´s article "Hel ved".

Pocket version of Ulvetider received

I have just received 10 copies of the pocket book version of our book Ulvetider - Rovdyret som splitter Norge, which has been published in September and is now in sale in book stores, kiosks and supermarkets.

Book!

Monday morning I got my copy of our book Ulvetider - rovdyret som splitter Norge [Time of the wolf - the predator that splits Norway].

Disposition for carnivore chapter

I have just composed a disposition for my chapter contribution to the book Rovviltet på Sørlandet [The carnivores of Southern Norway], which is to appear next year.

New book meeting

Today I have been at another meeting in Oslo in regard to our book in process on wolves.

Wolf and sheep paper planned for Special Issue of Pakistan Journal of Historical Studies

I have agreed to contribute to Pakistan Journal of Historical Studies (published by Indiana University Press) 1(2), a forthcoming special issue on “Emotions, Humans and Animals". Work title for my paper, which is due June 1st, is "A brief history of the cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep».

Norway: Second animal ethics conference to be held August 22nd

Last Friday I participated in a meeting in Oslo where Kristian Bjørkdahl, Ann Margaret Grøndahl and I evaluated the first Dyreetikkonferansen [The animal ethics conference] (September 21nd 2012) and made plans for the second. We agreed that the second will take place in Oslo on August 22nd 2013, with the theme "Hvem er villest i landet her? Fra pelsdyr til store rovdyr: Hvordan vi former ville dyr i vårt bilde" [Who is the wildest one in the country here? From fur animals to large carnivores: How we shape wild animals in our own image].

On September 9th the national parliamentary election takes place in Norway. This year's animal ethics conference will therefore treat topics that are currently politically relevant, namely management of large carnivores including wolves and further the Norwegian fur animal business (involving close to a million animals - Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and American mink (Mustela vison), which very existence has the last few years been under debate.

Panelist in Turku session: "Never cry wolf. Human-predator interactions"

Later this afternoon (at 17.30-19.30), at the sixth ESEH conference in environmental history, in Turku, Finland, I will participate in the regional panel "Never cry wolf. Human-predator interactions", along with Karin Dirke (of Sweden), Tomasz Samojlik (of Poland) and a replacement for Jukka Bisi (Finland). The panel is chaired and organized by Turku biologist Timo Vuorisalo, and is one of two parallel regional sessions this afternoon.

The topical presentation (to be found in the conference's hand programme) of the panel reads:

It is probable that human attitudes towards large avian or mammalian predators have been ambivalent since prehistoric times: predators have simultaneously been both admired and revered for their audacity and strength, and maligned as competitors or even predators of man. Some species such as the Gray Wolf, Lion and Tiger continue to have a significant role in folklore and popular culture. A diverse literature exists on the impacts of predators on society, the types of predator folklore and human attitudes towards predators in different parts of the world. Management of predator populations and their conservation remain a source of serious controversy even in post-industrial societies.

However, human-predator interactions and discussions on predator policies have been rarely discussed from the perspective of environmental history. This panel will include histories of perceived physical danger and human fear of predators, controversies related to predator management issues, causes and consequences of persecution of predators, cultural constructs associated with predators, environmental correlates of predator folklore, and personal experiences of predators. The panel has been organized in the hope that environmental history may help us make sense of the diverse human sentiments toward predators.

Turku: Participant in discussion panel on predators

Speaking about the 6th conference of the European Society for Environmental History (ESEH), I have been invited to be a participant in the regional discussion panel “Never cry wolf – A panel discussion on human-predator interaction”, which will be chaired by Timo Vuorisalo and is scheduled for Thursday June 30th at 17.30-19.00.

Chronicle on agriculture and carnivores

Today a chronicle of mine, "Landet som grodde igjen" [The country that /overgrew/], is in print in the national Norwegian daily Dagbladet (Norway's third biggest newspaper).

An unedited version of the Norwegian language text has been posted in my Norwegian language blog Utopisk Realisme.

***

Here's the chronicle on Dagbladet's pages. As of now there are 69 comments.

Shared Worlds, Oslo MA event: Webpage; roundtable description

The Oslo Minding Animals Pre-Conference event, "Shared Worlds", now has a webpage.
Program
Speakers
About
Organizers
Abstracts
Contact

Today I've written a description of the roundtable on the shared worlds of wolves and people.

Humans and wolves have co-evolved. We have several species-characteristic behavioral patterns in common, among them being social hunters. To varying degrees, a wolf is human-like, and a human wolf-like. The Big Bad Wolf has given rise to a vivid cultural imagery – it is a symbol, a cultural icon, and an animal that is highly sensitive to our own evolving human ecology. In Scandinavia, wolf management is controversial and currently under political review. How are we to co-exist? How do our behaviors and management regimes shape the world of the wolf, and how do they shape us?

6 more wolf videos - now up-close

Links to the videos at the bottom.

Wolf couple moving in synch

Wolves wrestle

Wolf play

A wolf plotting to steal my glove

Luna chased - the fun is over, time to go

Wolf tries to steal my glove

And the wolves they are a-fighting

The general pattern was that Nayla and Ylva were the ones fighting (and Ylva in particular chasing Luna, the omega (bottom of hierarchy) wolf), while Steinulv, the alpha male, kept whining and intervening to keep the peace.

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The socialized wolves at Polar Zoo simultaneously carry out their roles vis-à-vis their human caretakers (and visitors to the zoo) and their social roles vis-à-vis each other (this is due to the fact that the zookeepers remain neutral, in stead of taking "a role in the pack"). Accordingly, they can fight one moment and lick a caretaker's face the next, then returning to the fight...

The king of the hill

Wolf kisses

These pictures are of a zookeeper and a long-term visiting animal trainer - but one of the socialized wolves, Ylva, "kissed" me as well. The wolves got used to licking people on/in their mouths as pups, when the zookeepers at times fed them from their mouths.

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The taste of wolf - I now know.

Feeding the wolves of Polar Zoo

Here we're inside of the enclosure of the shy canid couple, Nanok (he) and Gaida (she). The box contains animal feed (meat). The adult wolves of the park get in average 2,5 kg each day (Note: they are not fed every day).

The shy couple kept a distance as long as we were inside. In the neighbouring enclosure, that of the four socialized wolves, they also kept a distance as we were up in the "wooden tower" (or rather ladder) from which these wolves are fed.

Nanok and Gaida eat. Correction: Nanok, the male (to the right), eats - and shows his teeth to his beloved Gaida, to signal that she cannot yet approach the food.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the road/path, the socialiced wolves keep track of what's going on, with us and to some extent also with their parents Nanok and Gaida...

Wolf pics II

Norway looks like a cake these days.

This poor wolf escaped from soon-to-be-established Polar Zoo in 1993, only to end up, in its afterlife, as a trophy in the zoo's café.

Wolf pics 1

This is not a wolf. The head looks like a wolverine - but the body more like a fat fox...

My first picture of the socialized wolves in Polar Zoo. I am inside of the enclosure.

Man and wolf.

Wolf videos

Here's five videos I have recorded today, during my research visit to Polar Zoo:

Ylva the wolf wants to play fight

Howling to the wolves of Polar Zoo

Howling with the wolves in Polar Zoo

Wolves coming to join us in Polar Zoo

Wolves take off