13 Comments
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Tim Dustrude's avatar

You are a master storyteller, once again weaving entertainment with wildlife education. The mental visuals your stories conjure are impressive.

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Priscilla Sherman's avatar

So amazing that One animal's sacrifice can have a profound impact, supporting the lives of many others and demonstrating the remarkable resilience and harmony of nature.. storytelling .. best form of education 🙏

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Clint McKnight's avatar

Thank you, Priscilla. Writing (and particularly researching) these stories has been a great education for me too!

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Mary Schwartz's avatar

I think this story is my favorite one so far! Thank you!

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Pamela Breier's avatar

Another great read. Thank you for sharing the life supporting aftermath of the elk kill. I knew some of this, but did not realize how many animals and others would benefit from the actions of this one kill. Thank you for teaching us more about the benefits wolves bring into a territory. Such magnificent creatures just doing what comes natural to them.

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Jay Shannon's avatar

This was a great visual sketch showing "the taking of one life supports the lives of many others". Very detailed and easy to imagine from those words.

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Robert Kuhnert's avatar

So well done, Clint! Your stories teach and entertain about the essential role that wolves will bring back to our beloved Colorado mountains.

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Mike Just's avatar

Great work. sharp description at the start draws me in to the drama. The story then quickly shifts into a documentary in which I learn so much about how the ecology of the mountains work. I didn't know some of the avians you mentioned were scavengers, including the eagle. Well-done. You're seemingly providing a service to all of us by shifting the action into an environmental work, without the need for essay.

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Randy Farhi's avatar

Wow, fascinating as usual. So well written. Felt like I was right there…

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Cindy Cox's avatar

Wow…I must say, I’ve grown accustomed, with every Substack drop, to being entertained by the antics of Little Wolf and impressed by the wisdom of the Alpha Female….but this very realistic, necessary hunt has left me awed!! CWD is incredibly debilitating, and the wolf family choosing that cow was perfect!! I’ve always known that a carcass benefits many, however, this visual “line up” was so well written that I felt I was front and center watching it unfold….and the “feel good” human emotion of knowing it served so many was not lost on me….thank you for another exceptional read!!

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Tom's avatar

Great! You made me wonder how many times people have made a time-lapse of a carcass gradually disappearing, and the cast of characters.

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Eric Dustrude's avatar

For a moment I heard the voice of James Earl Jones: "distributing nutrients across the ecosystem" as tho Mufasa were teaching his son. Your stories are conjuring wonderful images in my imagination.

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Clint McKnight's avatar

That’s a head-spinning compliment. Thank you, my friend. 🙏

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