William Peacock

Leading

the

Pack

hpu student pursues career in large predator conservation

By Celia Glenn
Staff Writer

Celia Glenn
Peacock is a sophomore studying communication at High Point University.

hile most college students

the coolest thing.
today view success as what

He recounted signing up for
they can get out of their college
every seminar and class the center
degree, William Peacock is looking would host at his school to teach
for what it will let him give.
about wolves, what being a large

Peacock, a sophomore at
predator means, and how to avoid
High Point University, says his
their extinction.
summer experience working for a

As Peacock grew up, his
Wolf Conservation Center in South father, Allen Peacock, encouraged
Salem, N.Y., pointed him toward
William and his brother to have an
working in animal conservation,
appreciation for the world around
an uncommon career choice for
them.
todays undergraduates.

My dad was always pretty

If you look around the
good at making me step back and
world, our predators are racing tolook at the big picture, Peacock
wards extinction, and it is up to us
said while describing the Boys
to save them, said the native New
to Men western trip his father
Yorker in a recent interview.

Peacock has always
been interested in animal
conservation, stemming
from his experiences as a
child growing up in Pound
Ridge, N.Y., a one-stoplight
town known for its everyday wildlife and woodsy
feel.

Even from a young
age, Peacock was taught the
importance of large predators, wolves specifically.

[The members of
the WCC] came to my eleCredit: William Peacock
mentary school when I was Peacock and his father went on their Boys to
in kindergarten and they
Men trip last summer.
brought a wolf and walked
him around and I thought it was
planned for he and his brother last

summer. The three guys flew into

sador wolves, so those
South Dakota and made their way
are the guys that can go
west, hitting a majority of the Naaround people and can
tional Parks and National Forests
never be released into the
that they could reach.
wild, he said. Their point

The WCC is a wolf sancis to change the negative
tuary,
perception that
hosting
people have of
With the
weekly
wolves.
man made disruption
events

But these 4
for both
are only a fracof the natural world,
students
tion of the total
changing climates, and less
and the
population in
suitable habitat than ever,
general
the sanctuary.
some
species
appear
to
be
public,

The other
heading
toward
pro26 are part of the
extinction. If changes
viding
restoration proCredit: Dina Wuest
news in
gram where they
arent made soon, our
this topbreed
in
captivity,
children could grow up
Peacock spent his summer at the WCC in
ic, and
but theyre way, way up South Salem, N.Y. with his fellow interns.
in a world without
even
on their own in secludlions and tigers.
posting
ed enclosures, he said.
back into the wild with the ability

Peacock
the feed
Theyre living pretty
to thrive and build packs on their
from a
wild up there.
own.
Live

The WCC is trying

With his eyes set on these
Wolf Cam to keep an eye on the
to do more than build population
organizations, Peacock is pursuing
wolves who call the Center their
numbers. They allow the wolves
communication studies and getting
home.
the space and resources necessary
involved on campus, knowing his

This is the statement from
to survive independently. Peagoals will require making connectheir official website: The WCCs
cock said the goal of the WCC is
tions.
mission is to promote wolf conserto be able to release the wolves

This year Im a lot more invation by teaching about wolves,
volved
their relationship to the envithan
ronment, and the human
I
role in protecting their
future. They do this
by hosting educational programs
and providing
awareness of the
wolf population
recovery in the
United States.
There
are 4 ambas-

A polar bear walking

with her cubs.
Credit: Susanne Miller/
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service

was last year, he said. I am a lot

more prepared and have a lot more
on my plate but Im better prepared
to handle it all.

Experiencing such a wild
frontier made an impact on Peacock as he got to see firsthand
these large predators thriving in
a protected environment. It only
pushed him to make strides of his
own within the world of animal
conservationism. The next summer,
Peacock applied to be an intern at
the same Conservation Center that
inspired him at such a young age.

He wasnt sure what to
expect walking into his internship,

conservation that he has woven it

into his communication studies at
HPU. In his convergent journalism class, Peacock geared his blog
toward conservation issues, writing
about endangered species, his work
with animal organization, and the
significance of todays large predators, including cougars, jaguars,
mountain lions, bears, and lions.

He hopes his blog will be a
platform for him to educate others on this topic and bring change
as people become more aware of
how climate changes and big game
hunting are bringing these essential
species closer to their extinction.
Peacock
Follow the Wolf Conservation Center of N.Y. on Facebook
writes on his
or visit their website: www.nywolf.org
blog, The more
we know, the
more we can do
to save these last
great predators
before it is too
late.

And thats
exactly what he
plans to do.

He described
his goals by saying, In an ideal
world, I will have
the privilege of
working at the
Sierra Club or an
To learn more about the WCC and its work for wolf and large
organization like
predator education, visit their website at www.nywolf.org
that, he said.
Hopefully, I can
but was met with some interesting
work for National Geographic and
tasks.
cover conservation issues all over

One day wed be moving
the world.
furniture, the next could be work
Peacock said he is aware
ing with kids, the next could be
that this career choice isnt as comtyping things up, the next could be
mon as pursuing business or compicking up a dead deer, Peacock
puter sciences, but he knows this is
said. Some days could get a little
what he wants to pursue because its
nasty.
what he cares about.

Peacock has become so

At the end of his blog page,
passionate about large predator
titled Big Predator Conservation,

Peacock wrote, When one tugs at

a single thing in nature, he finds it
attached to the rest of the world. John Muir

William Peacock is finding a
way to attach himself to the world,
too.
To read William Peacocks blog,
visit
www.hpupredatorconservation.
blogspot.com