-James Madison, 1818
"The central thing for which Conservation stands is to make this country the best possible place to live in, both for us and for our descendants."
-Gifford Pinchot, 1910
"...the modern technoscientific revolution, including especially the great leap forward of computer-based information technology, has betrayed Nature a second time, by fostering the belief that the cocoons of urban and suburban material life are sufficient for human fulfillment. That is an especially serious mistake."
-E. O. Wilson, 2006
-The grand and ultimate illusion would be that man could provide a substitute for the elemental workings of nature."
-Fairfield Osborn, 1948
Full-bellied and happy, a pup from the Sausage Tree Pack of African wild dogs. 
African wild dogs are incredibly social and intelligent. Several hours out of each day are used by members of the pack to play and interact. These two wrestled for nearly a half hour near a wetland in the late evening.
After a big wildebeest meal, the pack's pups played keep away with an older subadult dog. The subadult carried a stick in its mouth and ran from the pups, resulting in the entire group of pups forming a collective unit to chase down the subadult and its stick. Watching this behavior, it was rather evident that the subadult was teaching the pups how to hunt as a pack. In order to get the reward (the stick, the wildebeest, the oribi), the pups had to form a unified group and coordinate a series of flanks and attacks. The subadult would concede the stick to the pups from time to time and let them wrestle with it amongst themselves. But not to be left out of the fun, the subadult would dive back in and wrestle with all the pups, ultimately grabbing the stick again and running from them. The expressions in these wild dogs' eyes, mouths, and tails were reminiscent of dogs at home playing fetch or keep away in the backyard... In a world far from home, these dogs were good company.
Three subadult wild dogs "stalking." Wild dogs will stalk each other as a form of social greeting, as an indication of the beginning of a hunt, or just simply as an enjoyable thing to do in the evening. On this occasion, the wild dogs were beginning to stalk a small herd of wildebeest.
Packmates. Allies. Friends.