I was student teaching about 30 miles west of Bozeman in Montana. I was with a group of fifth grade students when I read them the news. It was March 8, 2010, wolves had attacked and killed a teacher in Alaska. The normally rowdy kids were silent as I read the article. "We don't like wolves around here either." said a student. Wolves were a sensitive issue there, they were on the comeback but one could not kill one without permission from fish and game. They weren't killed for the fun of it, wolves killed livestock.
It seems so long ago, but really it wasn't. There was a brief conversation between myself and a teacher's spouse. "You should look into teaching in Alaska, it sounds like it would be a great experience." This conversation was completely unrelated to the wolf news, in fact I'm only referencing it because at that point in time, I was not sure where I'd end up teaching. "My dad says the same thing, I just don't know where we'll end up, but Alaska--I think we're ready to be around people again." I remember saying with uncertainty.
Here we are on an island in southwest Alaska, 500 miles from Anchorage. There are no predators to speak of here. Bears occasionally swim and make it from the main land, only to be "redirected"--interpret that how you may.
Below is the follow up article that triggered my blog response on this early Wednesday morning.
http://www.adn.com/2011/12/06/2205617/dna-samples-confirm-wolves-killed.html
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