Wicked wolves?
If Little Red Riding Hood is to be believed then wolves are ferocious creatures that do nasty things like eating your grandmother. But Maggie, a bright and alert grey wolf, is happy to lick your face! A slobbery kiss is, thankfully, nothing like one that your dog might give you, all smelly and dirty. Because Maggie only eats raw meat and likes to chew on a juicy bone or two, her teeth are icy white and her breath smells better than most people's.
A good gossip
There isn't a full moon or a nervous granny in sight, so why do wolves howl? Kent, the man who started Mission: Wolf, says that the wolves, such as Orion (above), are talking to each other. From one hill top to the next the wolves like to share their stories. Apart from eating, they love nothing better than a good gossip! As much as a wolf looks like a dog it is, in the end, a wild animal. They remind visitors that they're not a pet and that inside this fence humans are in their area. They'll greet you, and once that is done, no amount of calling and whistling will make them move again!
Even though Maggie (above) is wild by nature, as a puppy she was born into captivity. Her litter of puppies was bred to take part in a movie project. But the film-maker didn't want Maggie, or her sister Raven, and both now live side by side at the Mission: Wolf sanctuary. The Mission provides a safe haven for up to 30 abandoned wolves and wolf dog crosses like Maggie and her sister. It is an odd collection of Native American tepees, hand-made buildings and wolf enclosures, high up in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. With no electricity, the volunteers who work there live off of fresh water from a spring and power from the sun.
Into the wild
Today, many wolves in the United States end up in cages because people keep them as pets. As friendly as Maggie can be, she's no dog and she certainly doesn't want to learn any tricks. Wolves need all the help they can get in order to survive in the wild. Above all, wolves, like Maggie, need respect. She is a wild animal and has a right to live free in the world, just like us.
The sanctuary's mission is to teach people how to be reunited with nature. Until people are taught not to try and tame these wild animals there will always be wolves, like Druid (above), born into captivity. Mission: Wolf dreams that one day it will be able to pull down all of its fences and visitors will go there to watch wolves, where they should be, in the wild.
To find out more about Mission:Wolf, go to www.missionwolf.com
Words: Amy Roskilly
Pictures: Rob King at http://www.wolvesandnature.co.uk/