Running with the Pack

While we were in Colorado last week, we managed to stop by The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center for a tour and interactions with the wolves. It was really the coolest thing ever. And it was completely unplanned and just happened by chance, which makes it all the more special.

The first wolf we met was the cutest puppy named Keyni. He was about 5 months old and was a rescue from a situation down in Florida. They walked him out so that we could all pet him and also because they are working with him in different social situations so that he can hopefully grow into being an ambassador wolf that will be able to interact with the public.

All the kids loved him!

I was not impressed with the choke chain sadly :(.

When he got to me, he started licking my pants, lol. I'm pretty sure he liked me :)

Contained But Not Caged

The rest of the wolves we viewed from outside their fenced enclosures. They have 17 wolves, (Artic, Timber, and Mexican Grey), 2 coyotes, 4 red foxes, and 2 swift foxes at the Center, along with some horses, dogs, wolf dogs, and burros. It was quite a menagerie :), definitely my kind of place!

We took soo many pictures, it was hard deciding which ones to share here!!

Here are a few of the other species we learned about:

Swift Fox

Red Fox (which this one is a white colored Red Fox...interesting)

He was also in the middle of changing coats so he is a bit scruffy.

Coyote

Unleashed and Untamed

While we were there we were also privy to several howl sessions. Boy are those something to behold. Nicholas managed to get part of one on video, it was just so amazing. 

Later on at the end of the tour, the guide tried to get the wolves to howl again. It was quite hilarious and didn't work but the kids enjoyed it...and it was entertaining!



After the group tour was done, people who signed up for VIP tours got to go into the wolf enclosures and hang out with them for about an half an hour. We didn't sign up for that, but we did sign up for a photo shoot. So Nicholas and I got to go into an enclosure and get our pictures taken with a wolf or two. It was seriously the coolest thing ever because we got to feed them and interact with them. They even give kisses!!

It was quite a day, lol. While we did have fun learning about these individual wolves, we also learned about the wolf plight in general and some of the scary things wolves are facing in our political arena. They are such a misunderstood species, mostly because of our grizzly storybook tales, and they really do need our help now. I will be doing some more research into ways to help and shedding more light on what is going on with the wolves nationwide in the upcoming months.

Wolf is the Grand Teacher. Wolf is the sage, who after many winters upon the sacred path and seeking the ways of wisdom, returns to share new knowledge with the tribe. Wolf is both the radical and the traditional in the same breath. When the Wolf walks by you - you will remember. ~Robert Ghost Wolf