Getting Wolfie At Wolf Hollow

My son loves wolves so my husband and I trotted him off to Wolf Hollow a sanctuary for wolves in Ipswich Massachusetts. A great way for Jeffrey to get to see wolves close up in a safe environment. Also a way for him to learn about preserving wildlife through the organizations presentation and volunteers being available for questions through out the visit.

Wolf Hollow was founded by the late Paul C. Soffran in 1988 and I have never had an interest in going. That is of course until my son showed an interest in wolves. It is an interesting place to go with a wealth of volunteers around to ask all the questions you want. Which of course for anyone with children understands this is a child's delight. Kids love nothing better then to ask a ton of questions to feed and satisfy their amazing curiosity.

The presentation is an excellent source of information on how the wolves interact with each other at the preserve and in the wild. They also discuss the history of man and wolf together, how native American Indians held them in high esteem. They also talk about ways you can to preserve wolves in the wild. During the presentation you get to see the wolves interact with each other in their pack. The wolves that Wolf Hollow house are British Colombian timber wolves.

Jeffrey's favorite part was hearing about the individual wolves and their personalities. I found the volunteers honesty refreshing about the interactions of the wolves with each other. The video above is of Jelly and this is her story. Jelly is a twelve year old female and in her younger days almost killed her brother. This would explain why Miss. Jelly is separated from the pack. According to the volunteer that is just fine with her, since she only seems to enjoy the company of humans over her own kind. We can only assume that her brother is a okay with that and probably doesn't miss her either.

A favorite story is of another female wolf named Nina, she made a getaway during a snow storm. Yes you guessed it up and over the fence with the help of a snowdrift. The preserve was quick to report the missing wolf and she ended up returning on her own. She came to the gate and they just let her back in. Attached is the link of the news article on that event.

These preserves provide an opportunity for people that are interested in wildlife and to have a safe way to interact with these animals directly. I am mixed on this since my son found out when he turns eighteen and if Wolf Hollow is still around he can be a volunteer. Yuks! One saving grace is that Jeffrey is nine and that is nine years away maybe he'll move on from this interest. If not of course I would support him with the hope he never forgets he is dealing with wild unpredictable animals. Also that he goes with the grace of God.

Now when watching these beautiful animals interact with each other, they seem dog like, cuddly and even cute. If you really watch them, you notice wolves really don't move like their domestic counter parts the dog. They move with an awareness of yes I am a predator and don't have much to fear and they move with a regal gate and grace. Where I love animals and would not mind the chance to work with wolves. I never would lose sight of the fact these are wild animals and demand respect and caution. That is something the volunteers drive home, that wolves don't make good pets, aside from the fact that it is illegal with good reason.

As mentioned earlier, there are volunteer opportunities at most wildlife preserves. There are great benefits to getting involved in volunteering at these preserves.

~ Volunteering is a good way to see if you really do like working with wildlife.

~ Getting your foot in the door through volunteering is a possible way to discovering a career. A career that you love and pays a descent paycheck. Nothing like heading to a job every day that you love.

~ If not planning on this being your career it looks excellent on college or job applications.

~ If you are working in an office, nothing better then volunteering some place outside with physical activity,

~ Excellent way to give back to the community by helping to educate the public in the preservation of America's amazing wildlife and natural beauty.

Thanks for reading,

Alison Ruth