Mademoiselle prefers the company of wolves
Published 12 June, 2008, 06:09
A young French woman has turned her back on civilisation to look after wild wolves in a Russian province. Laetitia Becker’s love affair with the animals began on a visit to the Tver Region several years ago. The wolves made such an impact on her, she decided to dedicate her life to looking after them.
She's spent the past few years rearing cubs and keeping them from being sold to poachers. It’s a solitary life, without many modern comforts.
Three years ago she saved a cub caught by a local hunter. It was an event that changed her life. At that moment she decided to stay and help the animals.
The village where she lives is almost completely deserted. The only contact Laetitia has with the outside world is Vladimir Bologov, who runs a regional wolf rehabilitation project.
Vladimir says the sale of wolves in places like this is a disgrace: “There is a black market for trading wild animals and it is not known how many wolves are being sold. In Tver, a hunter can get a bounty of $US 50 for every wolf caught. They usually end up in zoos, circuses or sold at markets or on the internet. Those that cannot be sold are killed”.
Once a week, Vladimir comes to take Laetitia to a town an hour's drive away. There she can send e-mails home and take a sauna with the local women.
Despite the inconveniences, Laetitia is not keen on return to her home in Strasbourg.
“When I go to Strasbourg, I'm woken early by the noise from the neighbour's garage door opening and then the sound of rubbish trucks. Here you don't hear a single sound and wake up to the birds singing,” she said.
What she dreads most is the moment she will have to say goodbye to her new family. When the wolves are a year old, she releases them to rejoin their packs in the wild.
Even though she enjoys the wolves' company, one thing which would make life more fulfilling would be to find a partner who would also enjoy the company of wolves.
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