Gianluca writes…

Buongiorno,
Vorrei anzitutto ringraziarti per il tuo libro "La magia del lupo", l'ho trovato genuino ed incantevole.
Mi ha fatto tornare bambino, a sognare la magia di vivere nella foresta oltre che di comprenderne il linguaggio della stessa.
Ho 33 anni, quindi non sono proprio un bambino…Eppure sono tornato a sognare, con leggerezza.
GRAZIE!
Mi chiedo se tu conosca qualcuno che possa darmi la possibilità di vedere da vicino i comportamenti di un branco, magari tramite un biologo o un etologo.
E' un'esperienza che desidererei molto.
Non importa quanto tempo e quali siano le condizioni, mi piacerebbe vivere un'esperienza del genere e ho pensato che grazie ai tuoi studi e al tuo percorso per scrivere i romanzi, tu abbia queste informazioni.
Grazie in anticipo per la tua amicizia e gentilezza,

Gianluca

Good morning
First of all I would like to thank you for your book "The Magic of the Wolf", I found it genuine and enchanting.
It made me feel like a child again, dreaming of the magic of living in the forest as well as understanding its language.
I'm 33 years old, so I'm not really a kid… And yet I went back to dreaming, lightly.
THANK YOU!
I wonder if you know anyone who can give me the opportunity to see the behaviors of a herd up close, perhaps through a biologist or an ethologist.
It's an experience I would really like.
No matter how long and what the conditions are, I would love to have such an experience and I thought that thanks to your studies and your path to writing novels, you have this information.
Thank you in advance for your friendship and kindness,

Gianluca

Michelle Replies…

Buongiorno, GianLuca, and I’m delighted that you enjoyed “La Magia del Lupo”  so much! If I understand you correctly, you’d love to see a wolf pack close up.  I’m afraid it’s very hard to observe wolves in the wild, because we’ve hunted them for so long that they make sure they’re not seen – and they’re extremely good at that.  Of course there are wildlife reserves where w0lf packs aren’t hunted, so that would be your best chance of seeing them in the wild – although even there, it is largely a matter of luck.  I haven’t myself seen pack behaviour in the wild, although I have come across many wolf tracks, and heard them howling, which was magical.  My own wolf research was all done at a local wolf conservation charity in England, where the wolves were kept in large, wooded enclosures, and were used to seeing people – although they definitely weren’t tame.  (For more information on that, see the Author’s Note at the back of my books; although I’m afraid that the charity in question has now closed to the public.)  There may well be such charities or reserves in Italy or elswhere in Europe; you might be able to find something online.  And although it wouldn’t be as amazing as seeing them in the wild, you would definitely see lots of wolf interactions and behaviours.  In my own research, I found that the more frequently I visited and got to know the individual wolves, the more interesting they became, as I kept seeing odd little habits and behaviours.  I’m sorry I can’t be more definite, but I hope I’ve helped a bit, and that you get to see some wolves soon!  With best wishes, Michelle