Hunt for the Shadow Wolf was a labour of love for Derek Gow. Because the farmer, nature conservationist and author, who has already helped reintroduce the beaver, water vole and white stork to England, is already a very busy man.
Yet despite his time constraints (he is currently working on a reintroduction project for the wildcat and rewilding his 300 acre farm on the Devon/Cornwall border), the ‘guerrilla rewilder’ has now turned his attention to wolves.
Hunt for the Shadow Wolf therefore questions the historic web of deceit and lies surrounding the wolf which led to its extinction in this country, whilst providing a valid argument for why we should reintroduce them.
But is his dream of their return too far-fetched? “From an ecological perspective there is no good reason not to return the wolf,” he says.
“Studies have shown there is ample room for many packs in Scotland and we now know from contemporary European experience that they would fit very well into additional landscapes elsewhere. There are plenty of deer for them to pursue and consume.
‘The question of whether we do it or not is a question for the people of this island’
“The question of whether we do it or not is a question for the people of this island. Wolves survived the curse of our pursuit until probably the late 1700’s in mainland Britain and maybe the early 1800’s in Ireland. We killed them to protect sheep. Now our domestic dogs annually kill many more of the woolies that the wolves ever did,” he points out.
“Yet, at present, the politics of land use dictate that every time a few farmers protest they get their own way. The politicians roll over into a position of servile submission and allow bad things to happen without issue. Sheep farmers would hate the prospect of wolf return,” he explains.
“But when you’re told it can’t be done, ask why not, and don’t never give up, ever, until you have achieved your goal.”
Born in Dundee, Derek left school when he was 17, inspired by the writing of Gerald Durrell, and jumped at the chance to manage a European wildlife park in central Scotland in the late 1990s, moving on to develop two nature centres in England and since buying and rewilding his farm. He is also the author of Bringing Back the Beaver and Birds, Beasts and Bedlam.
So why do wolves get such bad press? “I became involved and interested in the wolf at a very early age when the older people in my family told myself and my brother nonsensical folk tales – which were false – about the last wolves in Scotland.
“In the past, lobbies of the most powerful sectors in society such as the church and nobility made up lies about them to create a scapegoat that could be blamed for nearly every ill.
“I am still fascinated by wolves as a result of their tortured history. Why did we make up the lies? Why did people believe them? Why, when they had complete overlordship over a society that was largely ignorant and disadvantaged, did those that controlled wolf from commonly humble backgrounds behave in a way that many of their contemporary commentators noted was much worse than wolves?
‘when you’re told it can’t be done, ask why not, and don’t never give up, ever, until you have achieved your goal’
“I wondered if any who lived with them ever thought of them with understanding, without horror and on occasion with compassion. I now believe that there is evidence perhaps this was so for a very few individuals.
“But until we, as a species, come to terms with clever creatures of this sort, which conflict so obviously with our own interests, and develop a rational response to this presence, we can never hope to forge a better relationship with nature based on understanding,” Derek says.
“Once you understand what they were, you can see them everywhere in the colours of the land. In the tall grasslands of East Anglia, in the hanging beech woodlands on a Devon ridge and Scotland’s grey stones erected to immortalize their deaths, but their ghosts also linger in the mellow lands.”
until we as a species come to terms with clever creatures of this sort, which conflict so obviously with our own interests, and develop a rational response to this presence we can never hope to forge a better relationship with nature
So how can the public help reintroduce wolves to the UK? “Start supporting organisations that champion their cause. Make a fuss. The greatest barrier to wolf reintroduction is cultural fear amongst some uninformed rural populations who have political clout well beyond their economic significance, coupled with the great timidity of the nature conservation community,” he says.
And has Derek seen any wolves for himself? “I have kept tame wolves in my house but to date I have never encountered a wild wolf – yet.”
Derek Gow, Hunt for the Shadow Wolf, Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room, Tuesday, March 19, 6pm. Book here https://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-events/2024/march-19/hunt-for-the-shadow-wolf
The Oxford Literary Festival runs until March 24. For more info go to https://oxfordliteraryfestival.org
