Some people are proud to call themselves lone wolves. They see themselves as strong, free, and independent. Visiting Yellowstone National Park, I observed both lone wolves as well as wolf packs. Lone wolves are vulnerable. Wolves in a pack work together and are healthy and vital. Perhaps there’s a lesson for us as we consider the role of community and connection to others. Share in this reflection with me by watching the following video. Thanks.
The following is a text version of this blog.
Spring break. The phrase conjures images of young people at a beach drinking heavily while playing volleyball. Let me assure you: spring break isn’t just for students. Professors like me appreciate spring break.
This year for spring break, I went to Yellowstone National Park. Arriving at the end of March, I knew that only the northern portion of the park was open. But that’s exactly where I wanted to be, for that’s where the wildlife is most plentiful.
One of the things many people want to see in Yellowstone is the wolves. After having been killed off in the 1920s, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. Today, they flourish and are protected in the park.
During the week I was in Yellowstone, I saw two different packs of wolves. Previously, I had seen wolves in preserves, but seeing them in the wild was awe-inspiring. The pack I observed two or three times would come into a valley at Blacktail Pond in the late afternoon. First, two scouts would cautiously make their way into the valley and check things out. They were interested in a carcass of a bison that had drowned in the pond. The scouts made sure there was food and that there were no other predators or anything to disturb the pack. As it became dusk, the wolves came down the mountain in orchestrated movement from different positions. They’d stop about three-quarters of the way down the slope. From there, they’d begin to howl. It was a hauntingly beautiful song that lasted several minutes. By then the valley was dark and covered with shadows. It was then that they’d go to the carcass to eat. Everything they did was coordinated. They worked as a team.
During the day, on two occasions, I encountered lone wolves. Lone wolves are without a pack. Perhaps a lone wolf had challenged an alpha and was thrown out of the pack. Or perhaps the wolf reached adulthood and wanted to mate but couldn’t within the pack because only alpha males and alpha females mate. However it happens, there are indeed lone wolves. Their lives are very difficult and usually short unless they can create a new pack or be accepted into an existing pack. Wolves depend on a pack to hunt, to care for each other, and to sustain their lives by keeping each other warm and safe from danger. If a lone wolf doesn’t find a home in a new pack before winter, their chances of surviving alone during the winter are slim.
I’ve always found it odd that many people seem to idolize the lone wolf. Some people will even call themselves lone wolves, and say it with pride. They think it means that they are strong, independent, and embody freedom. The irony is that a lone wolf is vulnerable and not likely to survive long on its own. The lone wolf aims to start a new pack of wolves or join an existing pack. Being alone and on its own is not the natural way, the right way for a wolf to live.
Watching the wolves, both the wolf packs and the lone wolves, reminded me how important it is to recognize our need for other people in our lives. Just like the wolves need their pack-mates, so we need others in life who play different roles. To say it another way, we are best able to grow when we have others around us who form a community. A community isn’t simply a group of people who live in the same place. That’s how we often use the word today. Instead, a community is a group of people who have fellowship with one another, who take an active interest in the well-being of each other, and who grow together. That’s really what wolf packs do. They work together, have different tasks, take care of each other, and make sure each member is fed and groomed and stays warm.
The lone wolf? That’s a vulnerable wolf who may not survive very long. The strong, healthy wolf is in a pack. Just like a strong, healthy person is part of a community. That community may be defined geographically or based on common interests. Many members of my own community live at a distance from me, but I communicate with them regularly and see them as often as I can. The connections are life-giving for me and, I suspect, the others in my community.
It was a great spring break. Seeing the wolves was amazing. And watching them reminded me of some very important lessons about our need for community.