Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center

We had noticed the sign for the Wolf Center, so we called and made reservations to go on a tour. The place is on 35 acres of rolling hills with lots of trees and big rock formations, very well maintained. They have 22 wolves, 2 coyotes, 4 red foxes and one wolf-dog. All the animals have been rescued from captive situations so cannot be set loose in the wild. CWWC is the only certified public wildlife sanctuary in Colorado and runs on donations. In addition to the tour fees they do get some corporate sponsors and a lot of donated hours. Two women, Darlene and Peggy basically run the operation with the help of volunteers.
Peggy was our tour guide. Most of the enclosures are one acre in size with natural settings of trees, rocks and dens and have plenty of room for the wolves to hide if wish. They put two adult wolves to an enclosure. They do socialize the younger wolves and take them to schools for educational programs, so children can learn that wolves cannot be pets, and how important they are in the ecosystem. All the animals are spayed and neutered. Peggy was able to lure most of the wolves fairly close so we had a good view. Peggy gave us the history of each animal - they come from backyards, fur farms (the red foxes), Hollywood, and even a college dorm in the case of the wolf-dog. Human ignorance or cruelty seals the fate of these animals. Here they can live out their lives.

Toward the end of our tour, Peggy asked if we wanted to hear the wolves howl - of course we did! She told our group of nine that we had to howl first to get them going. It took our group three tries of human 'howling' before we got results. First the coyotes started, then the wolves joined in. They kept up the 'music' for about five minutes; it was really special to hear.

The mission of CWWC is "Education, Preservation, Protection". Peggy told us that the Bush administration has de-listed wolves as a protected species -- this is not a good thing. She told us that Colorado needs wolves; the Elk population has grown too large and suffers from 'wasting disease'. She had hoped that wolves would come down from Yellowstone and repopulate Colorado, but now hunters shoot them.

We paid $10 for a group tour and it was well worth it. For a donation of $100, we could have had 30 minutes of "interaction" with the wolves. Peggy said that some of the wolves even give kisses. We really enjoyed our tour and seeing these magnificent animals up close. It would be so much better if they could live in the wild. For more information, go to www.wolfeducation.org.