Cultural Perspectives of the Wolf - A Webinar with Sunny Murphy, WCC Research Associate

On Thursday, September 14, 2023, the Wolf Conservation Center hosted an informative webinar about the historical perceptions of red wolves across their native range. Sunny Murphy, the WCC’s Research Associate, discussed cultural perceptions of wolves and how these beliefs have impacted wolf populations along the eastern United States.
Conservation is as much about people as it is wildlife, so it is imperative that we understand the roots of individual and community beliefs and social systems in order to better inform our coexistence and recovery efforts.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jazmin “Sunny” Murphy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Environmental Policy and Management (concentration: Fish and Wildlife Management) at American Public University. Her research focuses on the intersections of culture, ideology, legislation, economics and land use with canid ecology, with special emphasis on Black and Indigenous communities in the United States. By combining the study of coyote behavior and cognition with these intersections, she aims to further develop nonlethal adaptive management techniques that are equitable across cultures and species.
ABOUT THE WOLF CONSERVATION CENTER
The Wolf Conservation Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental education organization committed to conserving wolf populations in North America through science-based education programming and participation in the federal Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) Programs for the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf and red wolf. The WCC's mission is to advance the survival of wolves by inspiring a global community through education, advocacy, research, and recovery.
For more information about wolves and the WCC's participation in wolf recovery, please visit www.nywolf.org.
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[@ToddSweeney341]

Wolves are very beautiful creatures 🐺🐺

[@sinimeg]

Good job at spreading the info, thanks for what you do for these beautiful animals ❤❤❤

[@harrietpeabody2118]

Thank you

[@slimjim803]

I needed this study system.🐺👍

[@ez3333]

Thank you 🌹🔥🔥🔥❤😇❤🔥🔥🔥🌹

[@rashaadlawson4537]

I just hope that the wolves will be saved.

[@minou79sue]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@balsarmy]

Wolf's are cool and beautiful. Thank you so much 💓

[@Knuckles-4]

🐺 howl❤

[@dabanyaseen3018]

May Allah protect all of you’,

[@weirdyyy006]

Oh my gosh Brer Rabbit!! That was my childhood movie!! But sad that the wolves got such harmful dogma about them for many centuries :(

[@saxiamondstern]

Thank you very much, I enjoyed this lecture. I learned about the wolves in Germany in a thorough workshop two or three year ago. And it is exactly as you described it. After centuries of their extinction, the wolves are now coming back and, again, the discussion of conserving or killing them is viral. What truly amazed me was the African American stories of Brer Rabbit, Brer Wolf and Brer Fox. I grew up with similar fables that seemed to be very European or German. I did a bit of research. They are stories that are part of or follow the Aesop Fables. While it is not known whether Aesop was a real person, the character Aesop is a slave and storyteller in ancient Greece, who gained freedom because of his storytelling skills. Also, the images you showed look very European to me. A Germany artist, among other, illustrated stories and fables in exactly the same style (even the clothes of the animals are very similar). It would be interesting to find out more about that, because that might be another aspect of German colonialism (Germans relatively late but brutally colonized the regions that now are Namibia, Kamerun, Togo, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and others). But all peoples on earth have fables and they are often very similar throughout the different cultures.

[@marlyandrade1147]

🙏🙏🐺🐺🙏🐺🐺🙏🐺🐺🙏🐺🐺🙏🐺🐺🙏🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@mahaphoublue7644]

Ahh I wish to learn about them a lot, specially their social status and interactions like other wilds animals too, they are so fascinating, it’s rare to see that the wolf pact also have an elder wolf who lead and alert the entire pact.

[@ymls2]

❤

[@SIBIRIAKoriginal]

came for cute puppies, left with deep sociological knowledge.

[@BaroTheHusky]

🤍