We arrived late on a cold winters afternoon and paid the $10 admission fee. We were then shown to the large enclosures that house the wolves. Each enclosure houses two wolves which are regularly rotated through the Wolf Centre. The Centre houses six wolves all who have been born and raised in captivity.
A husband and wife team run the Wolf Centre and in the 10 years or so they have been involved in the Centre they have never been away for more than four days at a time.
As with many captive animals the wolves don't do a real lot, actually they did nothing at all whilst we were there. It is enough I think to just able to just get a look at these animals up close. The male was huge and weighed in at 135lbs.
One of the owners gave us a very informative talk about the wolves, their habitat, mannerisms and way of life. They stated that wolves get a bad rap and there has been only one proven human fatality to a wolf in the wild. Wolves aren't protected in Canada and are regularly killed by hunters and farmers.
We were also told that wolves have the most highly developed family structure next to humans. An alpha male and female rule the pack and the weak within the pack are looked after and cared for by the strong.
Another interesting inhabitant of the Wolf Centre were the Karelian Bear Dogs who originated in Russia and Finland to hunt bears. In North America, these bear dogs are part of bear management programs aimed at rehabilitating "problem" bears. Karelian Bear Dogs can be used to teach the bears, as well as other species such as cougars and elk, to respect and avoid human "territories".
The Wolf Centre isn't large, nor is it a high-technology facility, but it achieves what it sets out to do and that is to educate people about wolves.
akmacca08@live.com.au
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