I Lived with Wolves for 72 hours

[Applause] [Music] fifteen thousand years ago as the last ice age ended packs of ancient wolves began approaching human encampments looking for scraps of meat leading to the birth of the oldest friendship in the world and after thousands of years of selective breeding and an unbelievable transformation we created the beloved pets and companions we now have in our homes but would you trust a wolf to come near you today it's pretty safe to assume that the answer most of us have been hardwired to believe through fairy tales and movies is absolutely not these incredibly smart organized and tenacious apex predators are in many ways rightfully not to be messed with but unfortunately as we no longer live in the wild we've lost our connection to these animals turning against our first friends from the animal kingdom and hunting them into extinction in many parts of the world oh my god he's huge the legislation was only introduced this week and wants to trim the state's wolf population from 1500 to 150 leading wolves to becoming highly distrustful of humans and require a lot of intention and respect to be approached and as you might have guessed our mission today will be to rekindle this ancient friendship with 16 rescued wolves over a period of three days our final objective will be to get accepted into their pack by going hiking with them in an open field with no leash as that is how they bond as a pack in the wild for that to happen safely however we are first gonna have to earn their trust by befriending them feeding them and hopefully at the very end go hiking alongside them out in the open okay so who would be crazy enough to join us on a trip like this first to say yes was corey a friend an incredible filmmaker who's joined me on many big international trips what's your fear level you're not afraid here no no i'm pretty terrified and a new face meredith who's actually a subscriber who's proactively put herself out there to audition to join us after we made a call out on our podcast looking for female adventure partners we are looking for women to be a part of yesterday and come with us on adventures and really be bringing the yes theory and you know the seek discomfort lifestyle through their perspectives uh to our eyes alex yes theory is looking for me do you have a fear of wolves no oh perfect the wolf sanctuary we're going to be living with for the next three days is called apex protection project whose unexpected live events led them from saving wolves and wolf dogs that were captive born from being killed having spent years alongside these animals they've developed an immensely unique trust and relationship with them and are going to teach us what it takes to be left face to face with a wolf oh i thought that was the real world first section i was scared i was like oh my god wow thank you so much yeah thanks for having us absolutely are they howling for a reason for us they hear me greeting you and they know that we have visitors and they're excited and they're getting recruiting is it a positive thing yeah oh it is okay good i don't know if it's a territorial thing so get out of here so you guys are going to be meeting wolves and wolf dogs today when you meet a wolf and you actually are in its presence and you connect eyes and you feel them and you feel their energy that's when it literally changes who you are if we introduce you to them and you're going with us and you do it the way that we want you to they're going to be great but if you walk over to the fence and kind of stir with them cone is likely to charge even if you're on the property at night we never have anybody walking around at night unless they're with us and so if they see just a person walking at night it's going to terrify their brains are 30 larger than a dogs they use them for strategizing out in the wild and survival i would say equivalent to like a three-year-old human child so they're like a toddler super intelligent toddler with huge teeth it's it's in their culture it's in their bodies they know humans especially male humans are dangerous they're much more comfortable with female energy and again we're also really not just talking about biology we're talking about energy you know like if you're kind of a masculine woman you might have to also work a little harder to build that trust if you're a very gentle natured male and you're in touch with that and grounded in that more gentle energy they're going to feel more comfortable around you that's just how it is raw beta's here [Laughter] wolves do you live in a matriarchal society you all better be ready because i'm not i'm cool with that [Music] we're about to experience something we're going to remember for the rest of our lives i don't think you forget the first day you looked at a wolf in their eyes i'm so excited i'm pretty scared i'm a little scared yeah taboo was our first rescue when we worked at this other sanctuary in the wild the alphas are the parents mom and dad and mom is the boss in in a wolf pack she became the mama of this adopted pack and she became the most beautiful alpha alphas are not this biggest strongest meanest you know they lead through love um they're benevolent they're they're calm when she passed away the whole pack just kind of fell apart technically paula and i are the alphas because we provide right but within their pack they have a hierarchy one of them eventually stepped up to be that leader we won't tell you who that is yet you gotta figure that out on the journey a mystery all right tom oh my god although we're laughing stepping into this enclosure with four wolves in it was absolutely terrifying there's one smelling your feet you guys are more like oh my gosh and as we move on we're to meet more and more um in your face kind of animals and using your face you mean like literally in your face like lick your mouth you're going to be smooching so is that loki that's pacing the fence yeah he's been very uh agitated since we walked in here so that that is typical wolf behavior because he can't escape and he doesn't feel safe with you guys yet but once he gets to know you he's gonna crazy so right now he doesn't feel safe that's why i mean every time i look up he's staring there are 16 wolves at this sanctuary but there are four in particular we'll be getting to know the first is sarge who is by far the biggest out of the group the loki who is likely to be the most distrustful of us thor who is very calm collected and comfortable around humans and finally riggs a pure wolf saved just a day before he was meant to be put down by a gas chamber now living happily as a complete free spirit he joined this pack of wolves and even found himself a girlfriend who will both be joining us on several of our hikes and like he said come on quickly [Music] he's an ankler and his eyes are so cool yes you know what lean against that are those some kisses holy crap i just got kissed by a wolf yeah more than kissed i was a french guy at first the wolves seemed apprehensive of us especially of me but after some time in their enclosure the wolves licking our faces was the first sign that a bond was beginning to form a lot of people ask us you know how did you get going what what school did you go to what do you do i was like it literally just happened there's no secret it just was a passion that we loved and led us in this direction we get up at the crack of dawn and we get out with these guys because we don't want them to be prisoners we want them to have a life we can't release them into the wild they were captive brightest illegal they wouldn't know how to survive we have a lot of them that can run off leash and that to me is just pure joy when they just run and play and there's no fence and they're they're up in the hills being wolves [Music] this is home for the night right next to the howling wolves yeah i'm excited for the hike tomorrow i'd like i want to see their dynamics as a group because we've only seen them like split up see the alphas tomorrow when we see them interact with each other hopefully we'll have a better gauge guys what if i sleepwalk accidentally you break into the enclosures you're gonna do it film it wolves are outside right now are they coming in who is this this is surreal we are inside your home and there are four wolf dogs yeah and a pit bull raised by yes they really like meredith a lot they really like meredith and he's doing kind of a fake yawn that's a sign he's letting you know that he's calm and relaxed when thor is putting his like paw out what does that mean it's kind of a way of bonding so he's kind of holding your hand by doing that i think thor is leader this is leader vibes right here and he's like i'm on the couch if you stop putting him will he put his paw and say continue yep cheers guys thank you so much for having us [Music] there's a reason why we so often strive to share these experiences with others it's the same reason why we put so much emphasis on community life is more meaningful more rich with connection specifically connection that is cultivated through shared experiences and last year we asked you for the questions you've used to create your most fulfilling connections out of 15 000 responses we gathered the top 200 to create spark by seek discomfort but spark is not only a question based game following your engaging conversation spark will instantly choose a random adventure for you and your group to go on in order to deepen that connection to further encourage you to create connections every month we're going to pick two people who share their photos with us from their spark adventure to win a unique seek discomfort experience it is forever our goal with yes theory to build tools to empower you to actually seek discomfort so we hope that spark does just that it is available right now on seekdiscomfort.com living with wolves day two where am i now you spend the day hiking with wolves normal tuesday good morning morning how are you i've got my coffee and i got my wolf [Music] all right tell me your dinner wow you're actually doing some work i've never seen you something before so what are we doing right now so they're we're going to feed we're feeding the wow this pups has been properly i think this is probably sarge's this is for this is for the cat that's the one over there we're gonna start with supplement because in the wild they would be eating an entire animal if they brought down an elk they'd be eating the organ meat the muscle meat we don't have that luxury so we have to add in all the other supplements that they might be getting so we're going to add a bone supplement a glucosamine supplement we give them all omega-3s better fed than i am but they get antioxidants i don't do that and then for those who eat poop they get a wait for those that eat poop yeah oh um right [Music] just frying up some steak for the boys and the three girls smoking these meats tsp right yes [Laughter] mexican may feel uncomfortable cut that [Music] drama in the kitchen right now where's the lamb sauce [Music] meredith is a machine [Music] he's hungry i'm sort of nervous they all can see us right now with their food is carrying a giant bowl of meat yum you all right back there maybe i should come over there [Music] what is happening to wolves right now across across the country wolves are being slaughtered to extinction across the country right now it wouldn't be surprising to see them go extinct in the lower 48 in the next couple of years if something doesn't happen to protect them they would take enough the endangered species listed the beginning of last year by the last administration if a species is put on the endangered you know species list then not only are they protected but their habitat is protected and obviously their habitat is very desirable by big corporations so um wolves become a bit of a nuisance to them so getting them off the landscape makes their habitat available and so that is what we're up against you know we have to remember we're laying a foundation hopefully because we're not we know we're not gonna we know we're not gonna see it in our lifetime so all this work we're doing we're not gonna get to see any fruition from it and we're gonna probably watch these beings that we love die hopefully we reach enough people who will literally make an effort take that time out of their busy lives to actually do something to help save them because it's not just the wolf it's all species on this planet we've got to somehow get enough people to care and it's not always easy i shut down and then i come out and i spend time with these guys and they give me the strength to keep going my babies it's okay guys and then there's that mom's upset [Music] this is because she was crying no really listen to how melodic it is they're trying to soothe me [Music] it's like the most beautiful sound i've ever heard what does that [Music] indescribable to have another species care about you so much they're so intelligent and so emotional so emotionally developed and so connected that they would care enough that a member of their pack is upset i love you even though we've now met some of the wolves the idea of opening the gates and going out into the open still seemed a bit far-fetched going on our first hike with the wolves the most incredible part about steven paula's relationship with these wolves is their ability to take several of them on a hike at the same time and eventually let them completely off leash and run free without enclosure so now they're going to be let loose in an uncontrolled environment no cages no cages this is usually considered almost impossible for wolf owners since wolves would generally run off on their own but in stephen paula's case the wolves always choose to return to their home you forget that we're hiking with wolves and you look up the fact that he's choosing to stay here as the leashes were taken off we finally felt a part of their pack [Applause] [Music] meanwhile [Music] this is the most fun i've seen anyone have you're saying this is the best part about everything they do to be able to run free like this all together and then come back it's pretty incredible [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is the most beautiful thing that i've seen in a really long time is this what you expected when we called you and we're like let's do no this it so much better really oh that's awesome ending the second day on one of the most beautiful sunsets i've ever seen feeling uh very grateful i'm gonna say that your energy from yesterday to today is totally different look at you look at you just reaching over to pet thor maybe now would be a good time to find out who is the leader certain members of the pack started trying to step up into that position such as loki and he was too much of a bully we thought it would be kona so one day thor went into his normal place and he kind of laid there and he crossed his legs and he was just chilling and then we brought in kona and kona ran up to thor and he looked under his chin under his muscles and steve and i went it's thor oh my god it's thor thomas is ready as we're talking about him leader of the pack proudly sitting on his couch getting petted yeah not letting me off the hook if i stop yeah oh [Music] i was talking a bit with with my team last night and with with seek discomfort we would like to put a drop in the bucket and contribute fifteen thousand dollars to helping build the next uh enclosure don't make her cracks you make me cry thank you guys that's not a small drop in the butter to us you know that's that's a huge donation but i i hear you guys that's awesome thank you you guys thank you but i mean thank you and i know that people will be so touched by by you and your story and i hope that they will come on the website and and become monthly donors as well i know there's a lot more to go and a lot more help that's needed so i hope that uh you know people will find you and come help through this this video our audience is very active the right people will come and stay you are all welcome to come into our lives thank you guys thank you guys welcome back everyone now to a court ruling that could help save the gray wolf population here in the u.s california federal judge has restored protections for these animals after the trump administration took them off the endangered species list a judge found that the federal government failed to consider threats to the wolves in the upper midwest where there is a smaller population the ruling halts wolf hunting across the country except for parts of idaho montana and wyoming [Music] you

Channel: Yes Theory

Views: 5,298,267

Keywords: yestheory, seek discomfort, yes theory strangers, yes theory travel, yes theory subscribers, getting out of your comfort zone, Amazon FBA, Wolves, Wolf sanctuary, Living with wolves, Taking care of wolves, Saved wolves, Face to face with wolves

Id: H4jA_SN4hgg

Length: 22min 55sec (1375 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 27 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/FurBaby18]

This is what it looks like to really feel passionate about what your life is. This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

[u/JZF629]

I don’t get the fear, but then again I grew up with 150 lb Alaskan malamutes so… they just wanna love on you if you give them the chance, and they are literally family. I miss my dogs man.

[u/[deleted]]

Apex is a beautiful organization. Steve and Paula are remarkable people

[u/pinecone_tea]

Beautiful.

[u/indigostars43]

This was one of the most beautiful things I’ve watched. I have loved wolves my entire life and only seen some from afar. I’ve been through a very traumatic year and it has changed me and as I watched this I just started sobbing…all this painful energy just came from my soul just watching these beautiful creatures. I felt healing just watching the pack be so affectionate with humans as they became part of the pack. Just an incredible experience I just had.

[u/Hyde_el_punk]

I really would love to work in a wolf conservation center or something along those lines