What the Wolf Teaches Us with Cheryl Alexander

Oftentimes, our fears are our best guide. The things we don’t understand can be our greatest teachers. In this episode of About Your Mother, we examine the mother we all share: Mother Nature.

Today, we reflect on Mother Earth through one of her most misunderstood teachers, the wolf. For a long time, I’ve been following the story of Takaya, the lone wolf. He found himself alone on an island in Canada.

We’ve been taught to fear predators, and yet when we pause long enough to look honestly, we begin to see that humans have become the true apex predators on this planet. Wolves don’t take more than they need. They live in balance. What we fear in them often reflects what we struggle to face in ourselves.

I’m joined today by Cheryl Alexander, photographer, filmmaker, and the storyteller behind Takaya: The Lone Wolf. Through years of quiet witnessing, Cheryl invites us to see a wolf, not as a threat, but as a teacher, and to consider what it might mean to protect what we’ve long been afraid of.

How Cheryl’s Connection to Mother Nature Led to Her Relationship With Takaya

Cheryl’s connection with Mother Nature has always been one of the most important aspects of her life. In nature, she feels happiest and most challenged to grow. Her relationship with nature led her to want to understand the wild animals with whom we share this earth.

However, Cheryl never planned on having a close relationship with a wild wolf. Takaya simply showed up one day on an island close to her home, an island that she’d visited for 40 years, primarily when she worked as a wildlife photographer.

The more she went to visit him, the more she felt his wild energy throughout the island, and her own wild energy began to rise to meet his.

When news of a wolf on the island first spread, others’ initial reaction was fear. People wanted the wolf to be either captured and relocated or shot. Conservation officers made two attempts to capture him but failed.

Takaya was a lone wolf, and Cheryl never once felt fear being near him. The more she observed him, the clearer it became that he wasn’t simply trying to live his life and had no intention of harming visitors as long as they weren’t a threat. He ended up living peacefully on the island for eight years. He even learned to adapt his diet and began eating the fish he could catch rather than typical wolf prey.

Developing a Relationship With a Wild Wolf

Cheryl’s relationship with Takaya originally began out of curiosity and a desire to photograph him. However, over time, the wolf became comfortable with her. He always maintained his wildness, meaning he never came up to Cheryl or stood right next to her. Instead, he would lie down at a safe distance and stay awhile when Cheryl visited.

After a few years, Takaya began treating Cheryl as if she were part of his pack. He would warn her when he thought danger was near with a protective, guttural bark. He was especially attuned to babies and was always more protective when Cheryl brought her grandchildren to the island.

Rediscovering the Wild Within

Takaya was an incredibly inspiring, resilient creature who taught Cheryl several lessons. He survived all by himself in an environment that didn’t make sense. However, his wolf howls proved that he was clearly in search of a mate. During the pandemic, Cheryl recognized that Takaya’s loneliness was not unlike that of those quarantined alone.

The experience also taught Cheryl to feel comfortable in an environment that is seen as “dangerous.” As humans grow more accustomed to city life, we begin to lose the wild parts of ourselves. Her relationship with Takaya fostered a “rewilding” experience for Cheryl, and she began to feel at home on the island without the comforts of modern life.

The Importance of Wolves in the Ecosystem

When Takaya eventually left the island, his absence was felt strongly by those who visited. Even those who never interacted with him recognized that he brought a sense of life to the island that was missed when he was gone.

Wolves play an essential role in the ecosystem and should be protected. They’re apex predators, but they function in a way that not many other apex predators function. They change the health of their environments, the waterways, and the behaviors of other animals.

In areas where wolves have not been hunted, they remain unthreatening to humans. They simply desire to live their lives peacefully. Unfortunately, humans have not been good at leaving them alone. To protect the ecosystem, humans must learn to coexist peacefully with wolves.

Takaya’s Tragic End

Takaya wandered from his island and ended up in Victoria. When wildlife is in cities, the first response is typically to shoot it. However, thanks to Cheryl documenting his life, Takaya had a following of loyal advocates who wanted him kept alive.

Instead of shooting him, he was tranquilized and relocated to an area unknown to him. The area didn’t have the type of prey he was used to eating, and there were other wolves there that were a threat to him. At one point, he was severely injured and had eight broken ribs.

Takaya attempted to make his way back to his island. He traveled 50 kilometers before turning around, likely because a threat made it impossible to continue. Then, he traveled about 50 kilometers in the other direction, where he sadly encountered a trophy hunter who shot and killed him.

One of the saddest parts of Takaya’s story is that he was extremely trusting of humans because of his life on the island. Unfortunately, he encountered people he could not trust.

Feeling like she lost a member of her family, Cheryl went through an intense grieving process for Takaya. The experience made her an even bigger advocate for wolves, working to protect them from hunters.

The Response to Takaya’s Story and Cheryl’s Work

Cheryl never could have predicted that sharing Takaya’s life would have the impact that it has had around the world. People have responded to Takaya’s story and relate to his loneliness and resilience to survive.

His story continues to spread through artwork that people make of him, including sculptures and tattoos. Cheryl hopes that more people connect with the wilderness and become advocates for wildlife, especially women. What started as Cheryl following a passion led to a movement, and she’s grateful to have been able to share Takaya’s story with others.

Saving wolves isn’t just about conservation—it’s about relationships. Our relationship to the wild Mother Earth doesn’t ask us to turn away from what scares us. She asks us to listen. Wolves show us that the lessons we need most often live inside the things we fear, wildness limits, and our place within a larger whole.

If Takaya’s story stirred something in you, I invite you to follow that feeling and learn more at takayaslegacy.com and please advocate for the protection of wolves.