Howls it going! You can probably guess from the pun that this post will be about wolves. Wolves are easily one of my favorite animals (though, I have a lot of favorite animals). That is way it’s very disturbing to know that they’re in trouble. Why? The most common reasons are 1) loss of their habitat, 2) over-hunting, and 3) illegal hunting. Now, I’m sure you’ve all heard the story of the big bad wolf, and the three little pigs, right? This childhood classic makes out the wolf to be a malicious character who eats multiple innocent pigs. Unfortunately, that’s the way a lot of people view wolves. Lots of people hunt wolves because they don’t want them eating their livestock. I understand that it’s their livelihood, but it’s also our fault wolves our hunting livestock in the first place; we’re driving them out of their homes! But this post isn’t about wild wolves; it is about helping wolves who were bred in captivity.
The beautiful Wolf Haven:
Now that I’ve given you some background and my weekly rant, I’ll get into the conservation of wolves. Wolf Haven International is a non-profit organization that has rescued and provided a lifetime home for 250 displaced, captive-born animals since 1982. Wolf Haven provides a variety of educational programs, participates in multi-agency Species Survival Plan programs for critically endangered wolves, and advocates for wolves in the wild. They also provide an up-close view of their residents to visitors, with full precautions to keep the wolves’ happiness of the upmost importance. Their simple but concise mission statement is “To conserve and protect wolves and their habitat”. Giving wolves a safe home away from the bad lives they had before is, I think, a very noble cause.
Angel before getting rescued:
They have had many wolves in their care over the years, but I will just choose one story they have to give you an idea of the work they do. Two of the sanctuaries’ wolves are Angel and Zoe. They both came from a local wolf breeder. Angel, a grey wolf, was purchased by the breeder with hopes that she would breed with his male malamute. But, after six years without producing puppies, the breeder didn’t want her because she was wasting him money. Zoe was recently born the runt of a litter of wolfdogs, and he couldn’t get anyone to buy her. He was considering ridding himself of them in a quite inhumane way, but thankfully he called the sanctuary before deciding to do so.
Zoe before getting rescued:
Unfortunately, wolf and wolfdog breeding is still quite common. It hasn’t been made illegal in all places, and breeders can get a lot of money for each one they sell. And I don’t this this particular breeder is the only one who did not have a good setup for breeding. Zoe was being kept in a small kennel together with her wolf mother and malamute father. They often fought over the small amount of food he gave them, and if something hadn’t been done, Zoe could’ve been killed. Angel was also being kept in a small, filthy kennel with a male malamute. Thankfully, the Wolf Haven International is helping wolves in these situations to live the rest of their days in a safe and happy home.
Wolves playing, happy in their new home:
Thank you for reading this week’s post! Are wolves one of your favorite animals too? Feel free to share your favorites in the comments section. Here’s a link to their website if you want to learn more: https://wolfhaven.org/ . Are any of you readers interested in photography? Check out the photography they have of their wolves here . Have a fantastic day!