he Wolk by Amber Waverly illustrated by Elizabeth Wolf fSHarcourtCopyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to School Permissions and Copyrights, Harcourt, Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887- 6777. Fax: 407-345-2418. HARCOURT and the Harcourt Logo are trademarks of Harcourt, Ine., registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions. Printed in Mexico ISBN 0-15-329295-8 Ordering Options ISBN 0-15-325513-7 (Grade 4 Below-Level Collection) ISBN 0-15-827276-7 (package of 5) 5678910 126 1009080706 05 04“He Fee Wolf by Amber Waverly illustrated by Elizabeth Wolf Harcourt Orlando Boston Dallas Chicago San Diego Visit The Learning Site! www.harcourtschool.com«(@ Nobody knows for sure why wolves howl or what their howls mean. One explanation is that wolves are calling other animals to come and share in the remains of their kills. A member of the Cheyenne tribe named Brave Wolf is said to have understood the wolves’ howls. By listening to wolves, Brave Wolf always knew what was going to happen.u( At one time, the howl of wolves could often be heard at night. For thousands of years, wolf packs traveled throughout most of North America. From the Arctic tundra to the southwestern desert, wolves guarded their territories and hunted game. They were especially abundant in the mountains, forests, and prairies of what is now the United States. Today, however, wolves can be found in only eight states.n( For the most part, Native Americans lived in peace with the wolf. According to tradition, the Oneida people once set up a village in an area where there were many wolves. At first, they thought they had chosen a good place for their village. Before long, though, wolves began gathering just outside the village.( The Oneida began to worry about the safety of their children. They thought about killing all the wolves, but that would take several years. They would have no time or energy left to hunt for food. The Oneida believed it was important not to change the balance of nature, so they decided to leave the wolves alone. The Oneida then moved the whole village to a different place.(As long as other game was available, Native Americans rarely hunted wolves, and wolves did not attack humans. Sometimes, Native Americans killed wolves for their skins. The skins were used for clothing or warm blankets. (Native Americans had seen wolves attack large animals such as buffalo and moose, and they respected the wolf as a hunter. Wolves played an important role in Native American folktales. Native Americans did not want to see the wolves disappear."(When other hunters, trappers, and then settlers and farmers moved into the West, wolves became a problem. Ranchers began to raise cattle and sheep. To the wolves, these farm animals were an abundant source of food. «(Ranchers soon saw the wolf as their enemy. They refused to surrender any of their cattle and sheep to the hungry wolves. Wolves had lived on the land for a long, long time. However, the ranchers began to kill the wolves to protect their herds.n@ In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, many states offered a reward for killing a wolf. As a result, hundreds of thousands of wolves were killed. By 1930, not many wolves were left. They could be found in only a few places. Every now and then, a few wolves would come across the border from Canada and Mexico. In fact, wolves had pretty much disappeared from every state except Alaska. No longer could the howl of the wolf be heard at night. 81 The how] of wolves from the tundra of the Far North gave Jack London the idea for his famous book The Call of the Wild. London thought the howl of the wolf was the true voice of the wilderness. But now, the night was silent."(Many people love nature and the wilderness. To them, the wolf is an important part of the balance of nature. The loss of the wolf means that nature ceases to be complete. They hope that, one day, the wolf will return. (Many nature lovers walk in the wilderness and think about how the wolves once lived. In a mountain meadow, they might have seen a wolf pack. Perhaps young wolf cubs would be crying piteously as they waited for food. After dark, nature lovers might hear the howl of the wolves. 10(In recent years, several states have tried to bring the wolf back into their wilderness areas. Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan have had the most success. Smaller populations of wolves can also be found in Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, and New Mexico. "( Some programs bring wild wolves into the United States from Canada and Mexico. Other programs release wolves that have been raised in zoos. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is in charge of programs that release these wolves into the wild.«( Wolf pups that are raised in zoos are kept together in pens. By living together, the pups form a close relationship, or bond. When the pups are five or six months old, they are fully grown. Together, they have spent many happy days of play, jumping all over each other. They have learned to “play fight,” the losers yelping piteously and rolling over in surrender. 12lh; @ Once a wolf is released into the wild, scientists hope it remembers how to bond. To survive, the wolf must bond with other wolves to form packs. The wolf also must learn to hunt on its own. Scientists keep track of the released wolves for up to two years. If a wolf fails to learn the necessary survival skills, it is brought back to the zoo. 13"( Although wolves were once in danger of disappearing completely, scientists no longer worry about their survival. The wolf population has grown much larger, and the animals are now protected by law. «¢ Some people still do not agree with the wolf recovery programs, even though they have been successful. Wolves continue to be killed in some areas. 14(Ranchers are still afraid that their cattle or sheep will be killed by wolves. There are reasons for their fears. The fact is that wolves kill other animals in order to eat. However, wolves cannot tell which animals are important to people. When wolves wander beyond the borders of their protected wilderness areas, they sometimes kill animals on ranches and farms. 15«(In spite of these problems, wolves are back after a long absence. Imagine a spring night in the northern Rockies. The moon is full. The high mountain passes and peaks are still covered with snow. On a distant snowy ridge, you can see a pack of wolves. They are howling at the moon. The nature lover ceases to think about work. The call of the wild makes everyone’s heart beat faster. 16Think and Respond ¢ @ What is the problem in this story? u( @ Summarize the main idea of this story. 1 © Why did the author write this story? u¢ @ How do you know that wolves might always need to be protected by law? u¢ @ Why do the Native Americans and the ranchers feel differently about the wolves? u¢ @ What do you think a wolf’s howl means? 1 £7 Strength in Numbers What animals do you ‘ know that are endangered? Draw a picture of four or five of them. Then write a fact about each animal underneath its picture. n( 4a, SchoolHome Connection Summarize this egos story for a family member. Then make a list of reasons for and against saving the wolves.