-- [ From: Kathryn P. Rosenthal * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] --

Hi, everyone.  Just got back from three months in New Mexico and saw
Kent's post.  He asked:
>
> Hmm, good point.  I'd say the key question is, WHEN did we start
hunting with
> dogs?  If it's long enough ago, then we can conclude that our bodies
have
> adapted to that WOE.  Anybody know the answer?
>
After a couple of months in southern NM, trying to find "free range"
food and striking out, I went up to the Navajo reservation in northern
NM.  I stayed in a small cabin (no tv, radio, phone) just off the
reservation in the Cibola national forest.  I didn't sleep much the
first night due to the howling of what I thought were wolves.  I was
right...they were just down the street, living in packs as part of a
research facility run by C. J. Rogers.  Dr. Rogers is studying the
family dynamics of the wolves and she spent some time with me explaining
her research and introducing me to the wolves.

At the end of my visit, Dr. Rogers allowed me to enter a wolf enclosure
and meet the wolves up close and personal.  It was one of the biggest
thrills of my life.  All I can say is:  wolves play rough!  I was
overwhelmed with licking, smelling, fighting over who could sit next to
me and who I would pet, etc.  It was truly awesome to sit next to a wolf
, with my arm around it, and have it bare its fangs at a wolf of lesser
rank who wanted to get near me.

But, to the point, Dr. Rogers says that the latest research (sorry, I
don't have the ref.) shows that wolves have been hunting with humans for
at least 125,000 years.  She feels that in some places wolf/human
hunting may well have preceded the use of fire.

The wolves at the research facility (not a rescue facility) are fed deer
, antelope, etc. that have been donated by local hunters when they can
get it, but their diet consists largely of kibble (dog food in a bag).
Ugh.  I did see wolves gnawing on bones (very prized and fought over).

Kath in Michigan
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