Yes, you read that right. I played with wolves, and I encourage you to do the same! During my trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, I spent a half day at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. This center is located about an hour and a half from Breckenridge and 40 minutes from Colorado Springs.
As an avid animal lover, when I learned that there was a place near where I was staying that provided an opportunity to humanely experience an encounter with wolves, I was thrilled. This conservation center focuses on education and bringing awareness to the public about the mass wolf killings that unfortunately have been occurring for decades. The sanctuary provides food and shelter to wolves and other animals such as coyotes and foxes that have been rescued from inhumane situations.
To start the day, my group and I checked in at 8:45 am at the front desk. We had our attire checked, as there are several restrictions as to what can be worn during the encounter, such as no fur or leather. If you are just doing a walking tour and not physically in the wolf habitat, however, there are no restrictions as to what you can wear. The restrictions are simply for the safety of you and the animals while in the enclosure.
After checking in, we had some time to peruse the gift shop, which was filled with several handmade products available for purchase. Once everyone had arrived for the tour, a guide took us to designated lockers. Here, we secured all loose items and our guide explained what to expect during the encounter. We then headed down the snowy path to greet our new four legged friends. While before I had been nothing but excited, it was in this moment that I began to fear what might happen. Walking past the enclosure, I watched as the wolves stared into my eyes. My mind was racing. What was I getting myself into?
As we stepped through the gate, I watched as the wolves intently stared our direction, carefully inspecting the new beings in their home. The guide led us to an open area where we sat on the ground in a line. Here, we allowed the wolves to come to us.
The male wolf, Keyni, was the first to approach us. He carefully stepped towards the group, making his way to each of us, sniffing us out. When he stopped at me, I put my hand out to pet his black and gray coat. Instantly, all my fears melted away. I quickly learned that everything we hear about wolves that is so dark and frightening is simply not true. In reality these furry creatures are more like big puppy dogs than the scary villains we hear in children’s stories. Perhaps “the Big Bad Wolf” simply wanted belly rubs. I know these wolves sure did.
We were informed by the guide that Keyni, a tundra wolf, was originally an “ambassador wolf”. When he was younger, he enjoyed coming out and greeting guests to encourage them that wolves aren’t as scary as everyone thinks. As he matured, however, he didn’t enjoy leaving his enclosure as much and preferred meeting guests in his own home.
After Keyni made his rounds and enjoyed some ear scratches, the female wolf, Makuee, a timber wolf, decided to join us. Makuee was a bit more hesitant to interact than Keyni. Once treats were involved, though, she was quick to come close. Turns out wolves love treats just as much as dogs do! Once she got to know us, Makuee stole the show and clearly enjoyed being the center of attention. She enjoyed kisses with several of the guests as we all waited for her playful approach.
Suddenly, I made eye contact with Keyni, my face inches from his. With his bright yellow eyes seemingly staring into my soul, I was in awe. There is something to be said about the gaze of a wolf. Their eyes are so deep and mysterious.
As we enjoyed the company of the wolves, we learned that Keyni and Makuee are partners. Throughout the conservation center, wolves are paired and grouped together based on personality. Just as humans don’t like everyone they’re around, wolves are particular about whose company they enjoy. When Keyni and Makuee were placed in the same enclosure to see how they interacted, they quickly showing interest in each other.
Throughout the whole experience, there was a photographer snapping pictures of the group with Keyni and Makuee. To be honest, I was so in love with these wolves that I hardly even noticed he was there, making the pictures much more candid. None of the pictures are staged and the wolves are NEVER forced to do anything. I even forgot the fact that I was sitting in snow and my feet had gone numb from the cold. None of that mattered in the moment. The entire experience lasted a little under an hour, but honestly felt like five minutes because I was enjoying myself so much. As you can probably guess, I didn’t want to leave.
When the time to leave did come, we were escorted through the gate and back to our lockers . We gathered our belongings again and went back inside. With the interactive experience, we also had the opportunity to enjoy a free guided tour of the rest of the conservation center!
While we waited for the 10 am tour to begin, we were offered hot coffee in the main building and thankfully given an opportunity to warm up as I was now acutely aware of the unfortunate state of my toes.
During the outdoor guided tour, we were educated both on the wolves at the conservation center as well as wolves in the wild. I was devastated to learn about some of the laws and practices still occurring which threaten not only wolves but other animal species such as coyotes, foxes, and even regular dogs.
Many states in the U.S. have little to no laws protecting wolves from being killed, leading to a massive decline in the wolf population over the past several decades. Consequently, many people end up killing dogs thinking they are wolves, or set out traps that end up harming dogs. I won’t get into too much detail, but the facts were incredibly upsetting. Many of these practices occur due to ignorance and misinformation. People often fear wolves, when in reality there have been ZERO fatal wolf attacks on humans in the past century.
Okay, okay, I’ll get off my soap box. I just feel that given my experience and privilege of being able to encounter these beautiful animals and learn about them, it’s now my duty to spread that knowledge to help protect them.
Getting back to the rest of the tour, the group was guided to each of the wolf enclosures as well as the enclosures of foxes, singing dogs, and coyotes. We learned about the personalities of each of the creatures, as well as daily life at the conservation center. We even got to meet three wolf puppies! And they are every bit as energetic and playful as the puppies we are used to!
To finish up the tour, we experienced something I will never forget. The tour guide counted to three, and we all howled like wolves as loudly as we possibly could! After a brief moment, ALL the wolves at the conservation center could be heard howling right back at us. The howling lasted much longer than I anticipated, and it was such a surreal, magical experience.
Overall, I had an incredibly eye-opening and memorable experience at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. I learned so much about wolves that I never knew before, and will use this to educate those around me to hopefully put an end to some of the inhumane practices still occurring to this day!
I hope this post changed your mind about wolves if you thought they were mean, scary creatures, and I encourage everyone reading this to take a trip to Colorado to experience these beautiful creatures for yourself!
While winter time is when the wolves are definitely in their element, the center is open to visitors year-round!
So, what do you say? Would you play with a wolf?