The Kiss of a Wolf…
The morning of January 18th started out like any other, except the weather was expected to be a balmy 61 degrees in Denver! Sensing this was very much out of the norm for Winter in the West, Art and Rita decided this would be a great opportunity to get outdoors and venture out on yet another adventure…..they knew exactly what they were going to do.They jumped in the Jeep and headed South in Colorado. About 2 hours later, they reached their destination just West of Colorado Springs in a small town called Divide. There they found the most interesting place, the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. This center is an animal sanctuary which cares for approximately 17 wolves, 9 foxes and 6 coyotes.
Why wolves? Prior to the 1940’s wolves were a natural part of the Colorado ecosystem. Unfortunately, in the early 1940’s the US Government succumbed to pressure from the many ranchers and enacted laws that made it legal to shoot and kill wolves in the state. Within just a short period of time the last of the wild wolf population in Colorado were extinguished. Sadly, wolves no longer roam the Colorado landscape. This has created a devastating domino effect in the ecology of Colorado.
By removing one of the state’s top predators, the result is elk and deer populations have exploded over the years. Without the wolves to keep the herds on the move, they have not had to migrate to various spaces for grazing and have overgrazed grassland expanses to the point that many of the herds are now running out of food and starving. Additionally, without the wolves to cull the herds of the weak and sick they are contracting diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease. This is the elk and deer equivalent of mad cow disease which can devastate whole herds and can threaten their very existence as a species. Over grazing also affects other species that rely on healthy flora systems like birds, rabbits and many others. Currently it is estimated that there are roughly 100,000 more elk than needed for healthy elk population in Colorado. Due to the lack of wolves the State has increased and encouraged the number of hunting licenses each year to try to keep elk and deer populations under control. Unfortunately, hunters don’t have the incentive to seek out the sick and weak of the herds and they remain to infect or weaken the remaining animals. All of this threatens the natural order of the ecosystem.
The Center was established 17 years ago for the purpose of conservation and rescue of all types of wolves. The founder, Darlene Kobobel was an employee at a local animal shelter in Colorado Springs at the time. One afternoon she was routinely walking the dogs at the shelter when one of her managers informed her that the animal she had on her leash was a wolf and was slated for euthanasia that afternoon. After much persuasion, they agreed to let her adopt the wolf. She took it home and 17 years later her passion for the species has resulted in the Center.
Upon arriving there, Art and Rita were escorted to the wolf enclosures by their guide, Bonnie. There were roughly 15 other folks in the group. Bonnie led the group around the enclosures pointing out each of the wolves and educating the group about each of them. The center has two species of wolves, Timber wolves and Arctic wolves. They also have a hybrid between the two which would never happen in nature as the wolf species would never come upon each other due to the fact that their territories are vastly different and distant. Breeders apparently allowed the species to create the hybrid wolves.
Bonnie told stories of how certain wolves were rescued from roadside zoos where they were kept in deplorable cages and malnourished. Others were rescued from private owners who thought it would be cool to have a wolf as a pet only to find out they could not manage them once they matured. Others came from opportunistic profiteers who thought they could make money on the wolves through photo ops or other business ventures.
The group learned that domestic dogs descended from wolves. However, the bite of a wolf can extol 1,500 pounds per square inch where the bite from a common house dog is about 350 pounds per square inch! A wolf can hear sound from over 7 miles away and can sense smells from up to 2 miles away. They are elusive and due to their great senses are difficult to observe in the wild. That’s why this Center is such a great institution….people can get close and personal with these graceful creatures and learn that they are not the big bad threat that they have been burdened with but in fact, an important part of the natural order of things. In fact, Bonnie indicated that in the entire 1900’s there was not one recorded instance of a healthy wild wolf attacking a human. Humans are not considered prey and therefore are avoided by wolves at all costs in the wild. At the end of the tour Bonnie stood on a small hill and told the group to mimic her as she howled. She then let out a very high pitch howl to which the group mimicked. She did this again and the group reciprocated. Just then, to the amazement of all, the wolves and the coyotes all began to howl in unison! The group just stood in silence and listened to the animals’ serenade….it was utterly amazing and certainly left everyone in awe!
After the tour, Art and Rita made arrangements with the founder, Darlene, to accompany her for an up close and personal experience with her wolves. She has certain wolves that are called “Ambassador wolves” which are those socialized (somewhat) to being around people. After a briefing on how to act and not act around the wolves they all went into the enclosure. They were told not to make fast or aggressive moves and not to hover over the wolves as they sense this as a threatening position. Once in the enclosure (through two separate gate systems, yikes) they were informed that the wolves (four of them – three pups and an Alpha male named Shunka) would come to them and sniff them to sense all aspects of them. As Art and Rita were being sniffed, the wolves were deciphering whether these beings were male or female, sick or healthy, where they have been, sensing if they were uneasy or threatening and basically forming a mental image of them so they can remember them in the future.
Once the wolves finished sniffing, Art and Rita were told to kneel on the ground as the wolves would finish their assessment of them by licking (kissing) their face (ok and mouth) which is a form of greeting wolves do to each other. They were told that not reciprocating the wolf’s “kiss” is considered an insult to them and can upset them – something one should avoid while in close proximity! To be honest, knowing the amount of pressure a wolf can exact in their bite made this process very intimidating! Rita kept thinking about how they can sense uneasiness which made the situation even a little more overwhelming. How does one go through this process without feeling uneasy and what the heck did that form say that we signed before coming into the enclosure?? Once the wolves were satisfied that Art and Rita were ok (thank goodness!) they allowed them to roam their enclosure freely with Darlene. The wolves were very gracious and courteous hosts to the Augheys. They allowed pictures to be taken of them and were generally very congenial. However, never did either Art or Rita forget that these were wild animals and treated them with great respect and followed all the rules they were instructed to follow.
Once Art and Rita left the enclosure they were again greeted by Bonnie. She had told them that recently she was petting Shunka through the enclosure and Shunka unknowingly put pressure on her arm causing her to come into contact with the live electric wire around the enclosure. This sent 9,000 volts of electricity through her and then into Shunka. Luckily neither were seriously injured but Shunka associated the pain of the jolt with Bonnie and to this day does not like Bonnie. Art and Rita were walking to the fox enclosure beside Bonnie. Shunka was in his enclosure and Bonnie (on the outside) stopped and said hi to Shunka. The wolf beared ALL of his teeth and growled incessantly at her….the same wolf that had just “kissed” Art and Rita! Suffice to say, they were glad Shunka sized them up as “ok” beings!
As Art and Rita were saying goodbye to Darlene and Bonnie, Darlene commented that the Center is currently trying to gain permission by the state to reintroduce wolves back into Colorado’s wildlife population for the many reasons noted above. Their work is tireless and unending as they battle ranchers who ignorantly sense these animals as the major threat to their livestock. Research has shown that while wolves have been known to attack livestock, the number of these types of occurrences are limited. This is why research, conservation and education of wildlife is so important. Sadly, our government differs on this point. Effective January 14th, the grey wolf was removed from protection under the Endangered Species Act by the Bush Administration in a sweeping 11th hour bid to gut the environmental act….go figure! Hopefully good science research and passionate wildlife advocates will prevail.
To visit the Center’s website, click here.