Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved wolves.
This little Jewish girl from Detroit dancing around in a pink tutu and satin toe shoes harbored a secret desire to live among the wolves and become accepted as a pack member.
Crazy, right?
Crazy because the only wolves I encountered in Detroit were the hormone-addled little boys at the Jewish Community Center.
“The gaze of the wolf reached into our soul.” Barry Lopez
It wasn’t until we moved to California and I was in college that I did anything about it.
Back in the 1970s, I joined the fight to save the wolf from extinction by advocating for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
In college, I studied predators and made plans to accompany research scientists and live with wolves in Minnesota and Michigan but never fulfilled that dream because I couldn’t (obviously) bring my dog, and I didn’t want to leave her.
Another dream unfulfilled. Oh, well.
Wolf print, Yellowstone
When tugboat man took me on a trip I’d fantasized about my entire life and we camped and hiked in Yellowstone National Park, we were lucky enough to see several of the wolves who make up the Lamar Valley pack, but we never heard the song of the wolf, probably because we camped right on Slough Creek, and the water, while beautiful, drowned out most animal sounds.
I’m still involved in the never-ending fight to save, defend, and protect this magnificent animal; read about my experiences in Sacramento when I testified at the Fish and Wildlife Service‘s wolf delisting hearing: Saving Wolves.
From my testimony: “At 6:00 a.m., a few miles outside our camp at Slough Creek, we followed others to a bison carcass, and our efforts paid off with a multiple sighting of many wolves, including 755. There was an overwhelming sense of awe among the dozens of us who silently watched him cross the road and then a collective sigh of relief when he disappeared safely over the ridge.
Last weekend, we took a drive to the Mojave Desert town of Lucerne to spend a few hours at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary, a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Tonya Littlewolf.
Eleven wolves call this sanctuary home, and while I finally heard the haunting song of the wolf, the whole experience could only be described as sad.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Why sad?
Sad because these magnificent creatures NEED to be rescued.
Sad that humans think they have the right to try and make pets out of these wild animals. (Not gonna work.)
Sad that the wolves can’t roam free, sad they’re hunted, tortured, hated, vilified.
Wolves are among the most intelligent species.
HOW DARE WE DESTROY THEM.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
So yes. Sad. Very sad.
From Wolf Mountain Sanctuary website…all volunteer educational organization dedicated to the preservation, protection, and proper management of wolves in the wild and in captivity. We are a forever home for all of the wolves we rescue. We rescue wolves from the movie industry, private owners, and from breeders. The impression a 180 pound wolf leaves on you is everlasting. To look into their knowing, wise, amber colored eyes is a moving, spiritual experience. When you look into the eyes of a wolf, you see your soul…
“We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself.” Farley Mowat
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Denali (Deh-Nah-Lee) (“Great One” or “Highest Mountain”) was one of two pups born in the wilds of Alaska. He was rescued from the wolf-killing that was taking place in that state, both by private citizens and government agencies.
He’s a beautiful wolf with a golden sand coat. Denali’s personality is very sweet, curious, and friendly.
Tugboat man fed him a biscuit and he took it from him in a gentle and almost dainty manner.
The wolves at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary are well cared for and healthy.
When I met this handsome guy, Holan, he immediately jumped up, put his front paws on my shoulders, and licked my face. See my joy? This is the smile of someone who loves wolves.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Tugboat man is sitting next to me, but I had to crop him because he likes to remain anonymous.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“The wolf is neither man’s competitor nor his enemy. He is a fellow creature with whom the earth must be shared.” L. David Mech
Look at him. The eyes. Amazing.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Sniffing around where we had been seated.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“Throughout the centuries we have projected on to the wolf the qualities we most despise and fear in ourselves.” Barry Lopez
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“Inescapably, the realization was being borne in upon my preconditioned mind that the centuries-old and univerally accepted human concept of wolf character was a palpable lie. On three separate occasions in less than a week I had been completely at the mercy of these “savage killers”; but far from attempting to tear me limb from limb, they had displayed a restraint verging on contempt, even when I invaded their home and appeared to be posing a direct threat to the young pups.” Farley Mowat, Never Cry Wolf
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Awesome Wolf Howling Compilation
http://youtu.be/op7fRsvWowA
A Man Among Wolves
http://youtu.be/j4vFBXOoHs0
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
From Wolf Mountain Sanctuary website:
WHY SAVE THE WOLF? Look at them: they are so noble, so beautiful. The wolf, as well as other endangered species, are ecological indicators. It is by studying these species and learning how to preserve them that we learn the main factors affecting our environment.
Perhaps in so doing, we will learn undiscovered ways to benefit mankind!
Unfortunately, there are those who deny the wolf’s place in the ecosystem. Wolves are gunned down from airplanes and snowmobiles (which some consider “sport”). Sometimes the fur is taken; however, more often than not, the animal is simply left to decay.
The wolf is poisoned “en masse,” trapped by leg-hold traps, used as adornments for the idle rich.
Today, the wolf’s range is limited to Alaska, Canada, the upper Midwest, and in Yellowstone National Park. Some of the YNP wolves have traveled into adjoining states, which allow hunters to kill wolves on sight and for little to no reason. In the 1930’s, there were approximately 50,000 wolves roaming the North American continent. By the 1940’s, that number had been decreased to 1,000. Today, mostly because of conservation efforts, there are approximately 3,000 wild wolves on the entire continent. They have made a small comeback, but because of the recent delisted from the Endangered Species Act, wolves are once again under attack.
Wolf lovers need to band together and do all we can to help them. TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
Only you can save the wolf from extinction. Proper management procedures must be put into action.
Won’t you join us in the wolf’s campaign? Please help the wolves any way you can: sign all petitions you can to stop the wholesale slaughter of wolves and donate to organizations focused on protecting the wolf!
And here’s something else we can do NOW.
It’s important to help out those wonderful humans who devote their lives to protecting wolves like Wolf Mountain Sanctuary and Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary.
This is such an awesome cause, and LOOK at those magnificent animals. I have chills. I’m so glad you got to take this trip, O Beautiful Previous Princess. I’m sharing this post everywhere 🙂 I hope the campaign goes well.
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Thank you, my properly previous zesty friend! One of the volunteers took most of the pics of me with my camera and they didn’t come out so good, wish I could have spent more time there. They were AMAZING.
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That’s really awesome
😀
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Wolves are better people than people are. I’ve met a couple of arctic wolves (the all white ones) and they were wonderful, gentle and so beautiful. My husband is a wolf person too, as am I but Garry has wolf shirts, wolf pictures on the wall, wolf hats, wolf recordings. We have coyotes around here and they are doing well … which is something. There is a sanctuary on Cape Ann in Ipswich, http://www.wolfhollowipswich.org/. We’ve been there and will go again.
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HE WHAT? I do TOO!! Wolf everything, even stuffed animal wolves that howl when you press the button. I wish I had known about that sanctuary when we went to Cape Cod a couple years ago. Now that my son is a tenure track prof at Univ of Wash (start in fall) I don’t think we’ll get to the east coast ever again. I’d love to see any pics you have from there. Gazing into a wolf’s eyes is really as magical as everyone says-not an overstatement. REALLY, if you guys ever get out to SoCal, we need to meet up! PS I have wolf recordings too, actual records. How cool! And I love coyotes the same exact way.
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Beautiful post! We, the human species, continue to squeeze out other species, and we really have no right.. We’re destroying habitat, desnuding our planet, and many people chose to look the other way in total denial.
Thanks for speaking from your heart in the wolves” behalf.
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Thank you so much! If only more people were like you, the poor wolf, bear, cougar, factory animals, etc would not suffer.
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This is a wonderful article. I have never approved of hunting like the “sport” folk do…massacre is all it is and cowardly. We must protect the wolf so it can again have the numbers it used to. Sometimes I wish we humans would be treated as we treat animals. it would definitely change perceptions.
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I so agree. Actually, the more cruel this world becomes with child abuse and all that stuff, I think we might be doing the opposite of evolving. That’s what I fear for my son, anyway. The world we’re leaving the next generation seems cruel.
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At times I do believe we are devolving as well. Mentally, spiritually, morally. It seems more important that ever for parents to step up to be examples of what is right and good for their children and that is all through their lives, not just before adulthood. At 85, my mother is still a role model to me.
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How sad, all the way around.
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Look lady: Please, please read Women Who Run with the Wolves. An affinity with a particular animal is a gift from Mother Nature. Sacred and holy. I feel the same way about sea turtles.
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I think I read that a long time ago, but thanks for the tip; it’s time to read it again. Sea turtles are lovely and should never be extinct!!!
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I love, love, love your passion. And I couldn’t agree with you more. Wolves are beautiful creatures…but a funny story for you (and completely off subject) BUT when my mom was trying to get me to go to the bathroom on the “big girl” toilet, I wouldn’t because there was a small picture of a wolf on the back of the toilet lid (I’m assuming the manufacturer’s logo). But please don’t fret. I go in the “big girl” toilet now. Wolves and all!
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OMG that is too funny. Especially since one of the things wolves do is to pee on people. One of the guests at the sanctuary got peed on just before we got there. So it’s all good. Did your mom put some sparkles on the wolf logo? That’d be the way to your heart!
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I didn’t know wolves peed on people! Hee hee. Sparkles must have been the route Mom took because I did graduate to using the ‘big girl’ potty. Thankfully.
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Ya know, I wish they had totes adorbs potties for us big girls. Maybe we could start our own BIZ of embellished toilets??? I would so want a Hello Kitty one. With sparkles. And seashells. Let’s do it! Why make those disgusting body functions even worse with boring white porcelain? We could do an infomercial.
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You are seriously on to something. I would pay GOOD money for a pink sparkly throne!!!!
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I know, right?
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Good information to follow up on that you gave. I have enjoyed Farley Mowat as well.
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I read Never Cry Wolf when I was studying predators in college, prepping to go on that trip to live with wolves that never came to fruition. I just can’t understand how anyone could hate any animal, especially one as magnificent as a wolf. Thanks for your comment!
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Excellent article and I also love wolves. Have a wolf tapestry and a wolf puzzle with a Indian maiden that I framed. Did you ever read “Lone Wolf” by Jodi Picoult? Excellent book!
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I’d love to see pics of the tapestry, and so funny you mentioned the Lone Wolf book. I JUST finished it and loaned it to a neighbor friend to read! I was afraid at first that it wasn’t going to be good but I couldn’t put it down!
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All wall hangings are packed including the tapestry. When I hang it at our new home I will take a picture of it. Glad that you enjoyed Lone Wolf. It sure was something with him living with the wolves. I couldn’t put it down either!
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I’ve always been entranced by wolves and have several wolf items around the house. In that regard, I’m definitely in the minority amongst my family. They are magical, mystical, and fascinating creatures. I really wanted to walk through the screen into your pics and join you for what was surely a marvelous day.
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You would have LOVED this place. My pics did not do them justice. Their eyes are truly magical, and I’m not kidding! Being licked by that big wolf was so cool. And no, we weren’t afraid at all. I’ve worked with them before one on one and felt so safe.
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