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Only 44 miles from the center of New York City, there's a place to howl with wild wolves and an opportunity to meet several of them up close. It's the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York.
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 The call of the wild is heard in the plaintive howl of the wolf, and the echoes of the wolf's call will still resonate in the wild spirit in all of us. Whether it is true or false most people have formed an opinion about wolves without knowing exactly how or why they did it. Perhaps it is because throughout history myths and legends of wolves have played an important part in human society. Wolves are admired or feared and it has always been this way.
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Credit Both Photos:WIKIPEDIA / Rights Under Public Domain
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| Legend has it that the city of Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus, and that as babes they had been suckled by a wolf. The Romans compared the wolf to their revered sun god Apollo. Japanese grain farmers worshiped wolves as gods. They brought food to the shrines they had built, and prayed for the wolves to keep deer and boars away from their crops. The Turks, Ainu, and Mongols believed the wolves were their ancestors. |
| On the other side we have the Navajo Indians who feared them as witches in wolves clothing, and the bible mentions them in thirteen places as being symbols of greed and destructiveness. Then there is one of our most well known children's stories, the spooky tale of Little Red Riding Hood who visits her grandmother's house, and finds a wolf who masquerades as her grandmother in order to eat her. |
| Then about ten years ago, the young internationally acclaimed French pianist, Helene Grimaud, had a chance encounter with a wolf that impacted her life. She knew then and there she wanted to rescue wolves from extinction and preserve their life of freedom. She also wanted to begin a program that would educate people and help them to understand the ways of wolves apart from 'old wives tales', and folklore. So, to this end she found land in New York's Westchester County, 44 miles from Manhattan, a green and heavily forested part of New York State with enough space to care for her animals. |
| And so, she began the journey. This protected corner of forest is called the Wolf Conservation Center, and this is how the center has come to define its mission, "The WCC promotes wolf conservation by teaching about wolves, their relationship to the environment, and the human role in protecting their future. It accomplishes this mission through on-site and off-site education programs that emphasize wolf history, the ecological benefits of wolves and other top predators, and the current status of wolf recovery in the United States. The WCC also participates in the Species Survival Plans and Recovery Plans (SSP) for the critically endangered Gray and Red wolf, now two of the rarest mammals in North America." |
| The WCC uses wolves in the outreach program as partners to help them teach. Three of the animals called ambassador wolves, Atka. Alawa, and Zephyr are specifically chosen for this task, having been raised in close contact with people since puppyhood. Atka, a snow white arctic wolf and oldest of the three, gets excited about hopping in the station wagon to travel to schools, nature centers, public libraries, scouts, 4H clubs, or anywhere to meet and interact with people as they learn about the history, biology, and ecology of wolves. While most of the wolves at the WCC never see visitors and are deliberately kept as wild as possible, the ambassadors are socialized at an early age by being around people and getting to know and depend on them. |
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ATKA
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ALAWA
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ZEPHYR
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| Visitors to the WCC Wolf Conservation Center see a video, hear a lecture, and then walk to see the wolves Atka. Alawa, and Zephyr who are always visible and eager for a visit. After the video and talk, and before walking to see the wolves, visitors are asked to participate in a people howl to alert the wolves that they are on their way. Often the wolves will reciprocate with their own howl. At this time there is also the possibility of seeing the more elusive and shy Gray and Red wolves who are never close to, but peer at the strangers from behind the protective bushes and rocks in their enclosures. |
| Animal behaviorists have studied this vital vocal instrument of the wolf and can distinguish the fundamental varied howls. The howl is used to bring the pack together, pass on an alarm, or finding each other in strange territory over long distances. They also use it to warn other wolf packs, and when they howl together, they do not howl on the same tone but in a harmony with different tones. This can give the illusion to other packs that there are more individuals in their pack than there really are and broadcast a warning for potential intruders not to cross into their well guarded territory. |
| A fun night for everyone at WCC is the up close and personal Sleep With the Wolves Night. Tents are available to rent for an unforgettable night under the stars with the built-in natural night music of chirping cicadas, croaking frogs, and wolf howls. There is a pizza party with Atka, Alawa, and Zephyr, a movie (perhaps "Call of The Wild") shown in Alawa and Zephyr's enclosure, evening fireside snacks and a light breakfast. |
| One of the happy outcomes of the outreach programs is that groups of young people have not only become interested, but involved in the plight of the wolf. One such group recognized by the WCC is the Woodmere Team from a local Middle school. They call their effort Campaign Earth, and their goal is to safeguard the nation's wildlife. With that in mind, these young people have made a video that features the importance of the Endangered Species Act while showing not only wolves but the various animals that need to be protected under this law. Their video is inspiring young and old around the world to get on board and direct some of their energy and passion in coming to the aid of their fellow creatures. To learn more about endangered species, go to: http://stopextinction.org/ |
The other very vital part of the WCC program is captive breeding and releasing wolves into the wild parts of the country that have a depletion of wolf packs. The WCC is the third largest holding facility in the nation for Mexican Gray Wolves and in 2010 added two pups to the Red Wolf population.
When the time comes to release one or more of the wild adult Mexican Gray or Red wolves, they are taken to a holding ground. One of these pre-release grounds is an island off of Florida where they are let loose to sharpen their innate hunting skills. Here they are finally and truly on their own. There are enough other wild animals on the island for them to track, kill and eat. When they finally learn to fend for themselves, they are taken and released in the wild where resident packs have been depleted. |
| The newly born pups have quite a different experience, and here timing is crucial. The Red Wolf Species Survival Plan employs a pup fostering program to introduce captive red wolves into the wild. Most adult captive wolves are not candidates for release as they will have lost their survival skills in captivity. |
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The Red Wolf Species Survival Plan:
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"The red wolf is one of the rarest mammals in North America. About 130 red wolves roam their native habitat in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina, and approximately 200 comprise the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) in facilities across the United States. As a participant of the RWSSP, the WCC is privileged to be home to six red wolves with two breeding pairs. We are especially fotunate to be hosting red wolves that were selected to breed because there is a chance that some of their potential pups will be given the opportunity of a lifetime--a future in their ancestral home in the wilds of North Carolina
"Captive-to-wild fostering is a coordinated effort by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Red Wolf Recovery Program, and the RWSSP. Fostering is a method which allows genetically valuable captive-born red wolf pups to become integrated into the wild red wolf population. The pup-fostering method has been extremely successful for over a decade.
"Every spring, red wolf field biologists in North Carolina listen for the whines and peeps of wild red wolf pups as they search for dens. When biologists locate dens, each pup is counted and tagged and blood samples are collected before the pup is carefully returned. Some of these dens will serve as the foster home for captive born red wolf pups.
"As soon as captive red wolves are born at any of the participating RWSSP facilities, the host organization alerts the field biologists of their great news. If the captive born litter is robust and the date of births match those of wild red wolves, a couple of seven- to10-day-old pups (number of pups depends on the size of the litter) are removed from the litter and transferred to North Carolina. Ideally, each year a few captive born pups are blessed with this opportunity and are embraced by their wild foster parents. The pups then develop in the wild and thus gain survival skills required to mature and reproduce."
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Maggie Howell, Managing Director WCC
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| This important work is always impeded by a cut back in government funding and the cry from livestock groups that the wolf is a dangerous predator and should be eliminated. However, it has been proven that domestic dogs, and coyotes are a far greater threat to livestock than wolves, and respiratory problems, digestive problems, and diseases are the major causes of livestock deaths. Some forward-looking ranchers who believe that wolves are a necessary part of the balance of nature are leading the way in this conservation effort by using trial methods and co-existing with wolves on their ranges. |
| Even though sometimes the WCC goal feels like an uphill battle, the hard work and love put into this effort to save the legendry wolf and shed light through education of the important role it plays in the balance of nature is well worth the effort expended. It is a gift to those of us who willingly share the earth with these wonderful wild creatures. |
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:
WOLF CONSERVATION CENTER / South Salem, New York
www.nywolf.org
(914) 763-2373
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