Wolf Centre
In July of 1996 the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre opened its doors to the general public. The Wolf Centre at Haliburton Forest had humble beginnings as far back as 1977 in the backwoods of Upper Michigan ... however that is a story in itself, but it is here that the blood lines of the Haliburton Forest pack began. The history and early beginnings is presented under a separate heading of "history" below.
Today the pack - Haida and Granite, the Alpha pair, and their siblings and offspring, - roams freely in a 15 acre enclosure, one of the largest of its kind in the world. The Wolf Centre contains numerous exhibits, a small cinema/classroom, a retail area featuring a wide selection of wolf related books, tapes and graphics as well as a large indoor observatory overlooking the feeding area within the wolf compound.
An annual themed exhibit is open to the public during the summer: In 1998 it was Wolves in Art, and in subsequent years the themes were: Wolves in the Movies, Wolves in Advertising, Wolf Toys and Stories, A Wolf in the Mail, Little Red Riding Hood, Wolf Masks, Wolves in Fashion and in 2007 it was a tribute to R.D. Lawrence, author and naturalist, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre. In 2008 Wolf Centre staff assembled an exhibit on "Wolves in Politics and Propaganda" with the 2009 display featuring a "Wolf Pub"! After a "Wolf Library" in 2010, the Wolf Centre will Feature an interactive exhibit in 2011, which will allow visitors to perceive the world " through the eyes of a wolf".
But the best news for 2011 is that after 3 years without off-spring, 4 healthy wolf pups were born at the WolfCentre on April 27th. We expect that they will start showing themselves to the public in mid June, becoming a standard observation of visitors throughout the summer.
While it is most probable that visitors will have an opportunity to observe the wolf pack or individual members of it, an actual viewing cannot be guaranteed within a short period of time due to the size of the compound and the unsocialised nature of the animals.
The mandate of the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre is research and education. Both are important components within the overall framework of Haliburton Forest with its philosophy of integrated, sustainable resource management and land use. The Wolf Centre is no exception.
Unlike most other facilities of its kind, the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre is a private facility, supported entirely through user-fees.
Hours of Operation
The Wolf Centre is open from Victoria Day (May 24th) until the end of the Thanksgiving weekend seven days a week from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM. During the remainder of the year the doors are open Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Please note that year 'round the last admission for the public is at 4:30 PM.
Wolf Centre Rates
The fees to visit the Haliburton Wolf Centre, subject to all applicable taxes, are:
Adult: $ 9.00
Children and Youths under 18: $6.00
Family: $20.00
Haliburton Forest Wolf Pack Members - Past and Present
Trats was the dominant, alpha male and leader of the wolf pack from 1996 to 2003. Trats died unexpectedly of cancer of the spleen in June of 2003. Trats was 9 years old at the time of his death and was born in the Haliburton Forest enclosure in 1994 as part of the first litter being born at the Wolf Centre. In May of 1997 Trats fathered his first litter of pups. All of the older pack members are Trats' offspring.
Wen
... was the dominant, alpha female of the pack until 2000. Wen was first introduced to Trats in 1995 at Laurentian University in Sudbury. Wen had her first litter of pups in May of 1997 at Haliburton Forest. Wen was displaced as alpha female by her daughter Hali in May of 2000. Wen died in the summer of 2000
Ebony
... was born on May 1st of 1998. His black coat with grey tints around the neck and back area gave him his name. Ebony assumed Trat's position as alpha male in 2003, losing out to his brother Smudge in 2007.
Smudge
... is a younger brother to Ebony, born on April 28, 1999 and as his name implies, his coat in younger years was beige in colouration, highlighted by a black overtone. Smudge died in the spring of 2010.
Citka
... was a beige female born on May 11th, 2002. Citka assumed the alpha female position during the 2005 mating season, continuing in 2007 with her second set of pups. Unfortunately Citka was unable to produce pups in 2008 and 2009, when she died.
Cedar
... is a male litter mate to Citka. He is identical in colour and has very long guard hairs, particularly along his haunch and back. He seems to be bold and like his sister, is quite playful.
Ginger, Granite and Grisham
... are siblings of the same litter and "teenage" members of the present pack. Granite is the only female in the pack at present and alpha female by default.
Haida
... presently the youngest member of the pack, was born on May 8, 2007. Its 3 litter mates were transferred to a research facility in Indiana. Haida is the present alpha male of the pack.
For the first time in its 14 year history the pack at the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre did not produce a litter in 2008 - and then again in 2009 and 2010.
A litter of 6 pups was born to Hali and Trats in May of 2003. Four of these six pups survived and were sent to a licensed wildlife park in Kamloops, BC.
A litter of 4 pups was born to Ebony and Citka in the spring of 2005. Of these four, only 2 survived the cold and wet spring and were transported to a licensed wildlife facility in Southern Ontario.
The History of the Wolves at the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre
Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve is the largest privately owned property in Central Ontario. Its holdings comprise 70,000 acres of hardwood dominated forests, 50 lakes, and countless wildlife. Operating as a multi use facility and applying integrated, sustainable resource management techniques, Haliburton Forest has become a model demonstrating that sustainable development is achievable. Haliburton Forest is now recognized as the best example of such in North America.
Within its boundaries nature coexists and in many cases abounds with every aspect of human involvement from logging to snowmobiling. And, yes we have wolves. Canis lupus, although elusive, can still be seen or heard. Two to three wild packs and a few lone wolves run and hunt in our forests. But more easily seen and heard is our own pack of Grey Wolves enclosed in a 15 acre enclosure.
The origin of the Haliburton Forest wolf pack takes us back to 1977, when two unrelated wolf pups were acquired by Jim Wuepper, then residing in Marquette, Michigan. Jim was a professional photographer who acquired the wolves with the intention of photographing these fascinating animals in a natural setting. The pups were taken to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and named Showano and Brigit. All three, including the first offspring from these two wolves, a female named Denali, became celebrities when they were featured in the documentary "In Praise of Wolves", a film about naturalist and author R.D. Lawrence.
In subsequent years the pack grew and declined, as would be the case under natural conditions. They inhabited a large, 8 acre enclosure and provided ample opportunity for research and photography. It was not the intent to commercialize the animals and therefore later generations in the pack were not socialized - meaning they were not acquainted to humans to the point of losing their fears or regarding their human companions as pack members.
In 1991 Jim Wuepper, after having worked with wolves for the better part of his life, foresaw that personal changes would result in his inability to properly care for the pack. He was faced with making the tough choice between three alternatives: liquidating his praised setting by killing the wolves: breaking up the pack and giving individual animals to other licensed facilities: or, finding a suitable place for the whole pack. While the last alternative was the least likely to materialize, it was by far the preferred option.
Jim had been aware of Haliburton Forest for a number of years through his acquaintance with R.D. Lawrence. He knew the staff personally and appreciated and shared their sound, sustainable approach towards resource management. As a wolf expert, he was also involved in the early development of an outdoor education program there. To him, Haliburton Forest could offer anything that his wolves could ask for and likewise, he saw the wolves as a potential, outstanding asset within Haliburton Forest's framework of research and education. In 1992 Haliburton Forest's staff committed themselves to taking on the project of transferring the Michigan pack to Haliburton.
In 1992 the Grey (or Timber) Wolf is listed as an endangered species in the United States. This subjects any acquisition or transfer of wolves to the very stringent CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species) regulations. It took months for the appropriate permits to be issued after state as well as federal wildlife departments were assured of the appropriateness of the transfer of this pack to Ontario. On the other hand, wolves are not endangered in Canada and are actually quite plentiful in northern portions of this country. They are therefore not subject to any control, as long as they are not of local (the same province) origin. However, escape of these "foreign" wolves was addressed and is clearly reflected in the extent of fencing, gating and accessing of the Haliburton Forest compound area.
Finally, in September of 1993, a 15 acre enclosure was completed, and coincided with the issuing of all permits required to the transfer of the animals. The moving date was set for October 12th and preparations for the "big day" commenced.
On the day of transfer, there were on site in Michigan: three veterinarians, a DNR wolf expert, three marksmen with tranquillizer guns as well as several helpers - a total of 14 people. It took over four hours to capture the five wolves and have them crated for immediate transport to Ontario. While they were tranquillized, DNA as well as blood testing occurred in order to document the status of the animals for future reference. During the transport the wolves slowly awoke from their sleep. The only hold-up occurred at the border when customs officials could not locate "wolves" in their GST-manual and were uncertain if regulations for "commercial goods" would apply.
Eleven hours after leaving their old home, the wolves were released into the Haliburton Forest enclosure.
The wolves readily took to their new home and in the following 2 spring seasons produced 2 litters of pups. In December of 1995 a young male wolf, Trats was loaned to Laurentian University in Sudbury for research purposes. This wolf was introduced to a young female wolf and sometime during the late spring of 1996 they mated. This new Alpha pair (Wen and Trats) along with a niece to the female (Niaga) were transferred back to Haliburton Forest in July of 1996 to form the core of the future pack.
Frequently asked Questions about the Wild Wolves roaming the woods of Haliburton Forest
Besides the wolves at the Wolf Centre, Haliburton Forest is home to several packs of wild wolves, freely roaming the vast expanses of our forests.
How many wild wolves live in the Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve?
We have established that there are three packs utilizing Haliburton Forest. Notice carefully the term "utilize"! An average pack in this area (3 - 8 animals) requires approximately 200sq.km (approximately 50,000 acres) of territory to find enough food and shelter.
This means that the wolves inhabiting the Haliburton Forest are not restricted to the property boundaries. In the summer of 1999, for example, two of the packs, which were found here had four to seven members and the third contained an estimated 8 to 10 individuals.
How do we know this?
Through Howling Surveys. Howling surveys are conducted during the months of July and August when wolves are concentrated near their denning and/or rendezvous sites and are apt to "respond" to howling imitations. At this time of year they are less mobile and when individuals do travel they tend to return to these particular areas.
This allows experienced "howlers" to get accurate positions on each pack, using compass and map applying triangulation which can approximate their position.
Howling surveys can also indicate the numbers within a pack through recognition of individual voices by experienced researchers.
What do wolves eat?
Wolves eat a variety of food items depending on what is available in the specific geographic area. Their diet can include elk, caribou, deer, rabbit or rodents, among numerous other items. Here at Haliburton Forest, wolves rely mainly on Beaver and White-tailed Deer for their food supply.
To many visitor's surprise, we find comparatively little moose in the wolf diet. On a seasonal basis, we find that during the spring, summer and fall months (March to November) a large proportion of the local wolves' diet is made up of beaver. Particularly in the fall, and when beaver are abundant, up to 80% of their diet is made up of this large rodent ! During the winter months (December through to February), we see a shift in the main prey to white-tailed Deer (approximately 80%).
How do we know this?
Through the ongoing collection and analysis of wild wolf scat (wolf excrement) from the Haliburton Forest property. Wolf scat is very firmly packed with hair and bone. By carefully examining its content the wolf's dietary mystery is revealed.
The knowledge of the diet of wolves in the wild assists us in providing our captive wolves with the appropriate feed in keeping with their natural prey. We feed the Haliburton Forest Wolf Pack predominantly beaver, which we obtain from local trappers and the occasional deer or moose which are retrieved as road kills.
Will we ever feed the wolves in the enclosure live animals? No! Although wolves will kill in the wild, it is not humane to provide them with live "food" in a captive situation like the Wolf Centre.
How are wolves related to dogs?
Scientists today believe that most, if not all, breeds of dogs are descending from wolves. Commonly the timeframe for the domestication of wolves to our present dogs is estimated as between 12.000 and 15.000 years.
How long will wolves live?
As wolves are the ancestors of dogs, they will live to a similar age as large dogs under socialized, captive conditions. In the wild, wolf mortality is very high with most pups dying before they are 1 year old. A 7-year old wolf in the wild is an old wolf, who has beaten many odds.
Will we ever release Wolf Centre wolves into the wild?
No! The Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre wolf pack was born and raised in captivity and will never be released into the wild.
Through Nature, through the evolutionary continuum and ecological relatedness and interdependence of all living things, we are as much a part of the wolf as the wolf is a part of us. And as we destroy or demean nature, wolves, or any creature, great or small, we do no less to ourselves.
-Michael W. Fox, The Soul of the Wolf