Hello friends. What do you think you'd feel if you met a Wolf?
I sure wouldn't feel anything but fear and panic.
This incredible but true story happened in Alaska, in the city of Juneau.
One evening in 2003, Nick Johns, a wildlife photographer was out in his
backyard with his Labrador Dakota. When he noticed a black Wolf nearby
who just stood there, staring at Nick. Worried that the Wolf might attack the dog.
Nick started to slowly back away, but Dakota suddenly rushed towards the predator.
Can you imagine the owner surprise when instead of a fierce fight,
he saw his Labrador and a Wolf from the forest began to run around and play together?
This Wolf was downright relaxed and tolerant from the start as if he dropped out of the sky,
tells Nick John's a former hunter and an interview with national geographic.
Since then, the lone Wolf began to come out of the forest to the outskirts of the city more often,
getting closer to the houses each time. At first, there was no unequivocal
opinion among the residents about the unusual behaviour of the animal.
Many hesitated between the curiosity and desire to get to know the Wolf better
and the natural instinct of self-preservation. After all wolves are typical predators, they get
food by actively searching for and pursuing pray. Others were worried that the animal might have
rabies, but soon the Wolf won the trust of Juneau's dogs, as well as their owners.
It was obvious that this animal wasn't going to hunt. It seemed that the Wolf
got separated from the pack for some reason and just wanted to socialize.
Nick's wife was the first one to call the wolf Romeo.
Having seen the familiar silhouette near the house. She said to her husband,
“that's Romeo here again”. The name stuck to the black Wolf,
but Romeo wasn't only attracted to his Juliette, Dakota the Labrador.
“He flirted with other dogs as well” tells Nick. “But of course, he had his favorites”.
For Nick his interaction with Romeo was first of all, an opportunity to understand him after
which Nick tried to gain the Wolf's trust. In the end Nick's family got so attached
to the animal that they tried to keep an eye on them when possible.
In the six years of Romeo's interaction with the dogs and the residents of Juneau, Nick Johns made
a lot of impressive and mesmerizing pictures, as well as wrote a book called a “Wolf called Romio”.
Nick told in an interview that today, “so many years later,
he can hardly hold back the tears, when he's doing a reading of certain places
from the book in front of an audience.” “Romeo was the single most transformative
event of my life. I find myself waking up at night and thinking about him.”
“His life and death are not something that I ever expect to get over “says Nick John.
“It Wasn't just our understanding and tolerance. It was the combination of his and ours and the
dogs. We were these three species working out how to get along harmoniously, and we did!” he adds.
According to Nick “many of the local residents were so fascinated by this kind of predator
that they wanted to get closer to him. But Romeo was very sensitive about his personal space.”
He typically wouldn't allow strangers to come closer than a hundred yards.
However, if it were people or dogs that he already knew, he would allow them to come
as close as an arm's length. “There were a number of times when I could have reached
out and brushed my hand along his back as he went by, but I never did.” Nick remembers.
For six years Romeo was an unofficial symbol of the city, the residence pet. But
one day he stopped coming to the frozen lake. It turned out that he was illegally shot. The
Juneau residents put up a Memorial plaque by the lake in honor of the
extraordinary friendly predator Romeo. Seven years after the Wolf's death,
the residents of the Alaskan city of Juneau will get to see their favorite pet again.
An Educational exhibit dedicated to the legendary Romeo will be completed in the
Mendenhall center by the end of December, the exhibition is organized by Nick John.
The first person to notice the unusual predator back in 2003.
The wild animal from this moving story teaches us to live in peace and harmony and also not to
violate someone's personal space. Do you agree?
Like our video if you do! and we'll see you next time.