Wolf Park Kids! What Is Wolf Park?

Wolf Park Kids!
What Is Wolf Park?

We are asked this question a lot, so here is the story about Wolf Park.
A lot of you have been writing and asking what the Park looks like. Here are some photos!

This is our Visitors Center! It has all sorts of interesting things in it, both to see and to buy. This is the first piece of Wolf Park that people see (apart from the parking lot, of course). Staff have problems walking out without buying anything.
As you come out of the Visitors Center you can see the enclosure that holds our main pack. The main pack area is just under 7 acres, with a 3 acre lake in the middle of it. The wolves who live there can reach either side of the lake by using a little "bridge" along the fence to cross over. Most of our programs, like school tours and Howl Nights, take place in front of this enclosure. You can see a little piece of the bleachers that people sit on to watch in the corner of this photo. There is a sun shade over the bleachers in the summer.

Here is the main pack enclosure in winter (left) and in the summer! We think it's a lot prettier in the summer.

This is our Observation Building. It has offices in it, and the Ethology Library, and a little room where people who are observing the wolves can write down what they see and enter it into a computer database.
Also in this building is the "puppy room" where we hand-raise the wolf puppies when we have them. The puppy room is all tiled and there is no furniture in it. Wolves, even wolf puppies, are very hard on the furniture.

The front room of the Observation Building has a wall full of windows. Visitors can look out the windows to watch what is happening at the Park from the comfort of the indoors. You can see the big lake in the main enclosure through the windows. You can also see the hollow logs that the wolves like to climb on.
The Park is just under 75 acres and most of the land is used for the bison who live at the Park. We have a small herd of bison and when we open the gates there are 4 different fields we can let them into.

This is our Education Building. It's right across from the Observation Building. In this building we hold seminars, for both kids and grown-ups, and show videos. This is also where the Junior Volunteers hold their meetings! We have educational exhibits in here, as well as lots of nifty things to hold, examine, and explore.

This is the garden, all pretty in the summer. You can see the corner of the fox enclosure at the side. We have games in the garden, and sometimes parts of the children's seminars are held out here too. The foxes can watch everyone and in the spring and summer they can enjoy the smell of the flowers that staff and volunteers have planted.

East Lake, which we sometimes call the retirement center, is smaller than the big enclosure but still gives the wolves who live there plenty of room. Some of the wolves live together and some live alone. Even the wolves who live alone can see the other wolves and interact with them through the chain link fencing.
When we have coyotes, they live here. The field where we have the wolf bison demonstration is over here, too, and the wolves who don't get to go at least get to watch the wolves who do get to go. The wolves also get to watch the bison as they roam, and the visitors as they walk by. It's like wolf TV.

A "loop trail" brings visitors to East Lake back over a bridge to the fox enclosure. Here is the other end of the main pack enclosure. One of the fields the bison like most shares the lake with the main pack's enclosure. It is fun to watch the bison and the wolves look at one another when they are close and getting a drink. When the lake is frozen in the winter sometimes the wolves go out on the ice to get a better look at the bison.

Wolf Park is a place where wolves are studied. We mainly study the social and rank structure of the pack. By learning how wolves live with one another we are able to help them live better in captivity and learn how to help them in the wild. Our wolves are "socialized", which means we are able to go in the enclosures with them. That means we can fix the enclosures or even give the wolves shots without having to scare the wolves. The wolves really enjoy our visits, and that makes their lives better. We don't like to see wolves living in captivity, but since some wolves will always have to live in captivity we want to make their lives as fun as we can.
The Park is home to wolves, red foxes, coyotes, New Guinea Singing Dogs, and more than a dozen American bison. Tours are given around the Park so people can see the different animals. The main pack enclosure is where the howl night programs are given, along with the weekend handling demonstrations (where some staff go in and interact with the wolves -- this shows people that wolves are not big or bad, they are just wolves).
If you come on Sunday you will see the famous wolf bison demonstration, and a wolf feeding. Deer that were hit by cars are the usual meal. And no trip to Wolf Park would be complete without a visit to the park's Gift Shop!
Wolf Park is a really fun place to be (or at least we think so). There are lots of animals to see and hear and lots of stuff to look at and learn.

We are asked this question a lot, so here is the story about Wolf Park. A lot of you have been writing and asking what the Park looks like. Here are some photos!
This is our Visitors Center! It has all sorts of interesting things in it, both to see and to buy. This is the first piece of Wolf Park that people see (apart from the parking lot, of course). Staff have problems walking out without buying anything. As you come out of the Visitors Center you can see the enclosure that holds our main pack. The main pack area is just under 7 acres, with a 3 acre lake in the middle of it. The wolves who live there can reach either side of the lake by using a little "bridge" along the fence to cross over. Most of our programs, like school tours and Howl Nights, take place in front of this enclosure. You can see a little piece of the bleachers that people sit on to watch in the corner of this photo. There is a sun shade over the bleachers in the summer.
	Here is the main pack enclosure in winter (left) and in the summer! We think it's a lot prettier in the summer.
	This is our Observation Building. It has offices in it, and the Ethology Library, and a little room where people who are observing the wolves can write down what they see and enter it into a computer database. Also in this building is the "puppy room" where we hand-raise the wolf puppies when we have them. The puppy room is all tiled and there is no furniture in it. Wolves, even wolf puppies, are very hard on the furniture.
The front room of the Observation Building has a wall full of windows. Visitors can look out the windows to watch what is happening at the Park from the comfort of the indoors. You can see the big lake in the main enclosure through the windows. You can also see the hollow logs that the wolves like to climb on. The Park is just under 75 acres and most of the land is used for the bison who live at the Park. We have a small herd of bison and when we open the gates there are 4 different fields we can let them into.
	This is our Education Building. It's right across from the Observation Building. In this building we hold seminars, for both kids and grown-ups, and show videos. This is also where the Junior Volunteers hold their meetings! We have educational exhibits in here, as well as lots of nifty things to hold, examine, and explore.
This is the garden, all pretty in the summer. You can see the corner of the fox enclosure at the side. We have games in the garden, and sometimes parts of the children's seminars are held out here too. The foxes can watch everyone and in the spring and summer they can enjoy the smell of the flowers that staff and volunteers have planted.
East Lake, which we sometimes call the retirement center, is smaller than the big enclosure but still gives the wolves who live there plenty of room. Some of the wolves live together and some live alone. Even the wolves who live alone can see the other wolves and interact with them through the chain link fencing. When we have coyotes, they live here. The field where we have the wolf bison demonstration is over here, too, and the wolves who don't get to go at least get to watch the wolves who do get to go. The wolves also get to watch the bison as they roam, and the visitors as they walk by. It's like wolf TV.
	A "loop trail" brings visitors to East Lake back over a bridge to the fox enclosure. Here is the other end of the main pack enclosure. One of the fields the bison like most shares the lake with the main pack's enclosure. It is fun to watch the bison and the wolves look at one another when they are close and getting a drink. When the lake is frozen in the winter sometimes the wolves go out on the ice to get a better look at the bison.
Wolf Park is a place where wolves are studied. We mainly study the social and rank structure of the pack. By learning how wolves live with one another we are able to help them live better in captivity and learn how to help them in the wild. Our wolves are "socialized", which means we are able to go in the enclosures with them. That means we can fix the enclosures or even give the wolves shots without having to scare the wolves. The wolves really enjoy our visits, and that makes their lives better. We don't like to see wolves living in captivity, but since some wolves will always have to live in captivity we want to make their lives as fun as we can. The Park is home to wolves, red foxes, coyotes, New Guinea Singing Dogs, and more than a dozen American bison. Tours are given around the Park so people can see the different animals. The main pack enclosure is where the howl night programs are given, along with the weekend handling demonstrations (where some staff go in and interact with the wolves -- this shows people that wolves are not big or bad, they are just wolves). If you come on Sunday you will see the famous wolf bison demonstration, and a wolf feeding. Deer that were hit by cars are the usual meal. And no trip to Wolf Park would be complete without a visit to the park's Gift Shop! Wolf Park is a really fun place to be (or at least we think so). There are lots of animals to see and hear and lots of stuff to look at and learn.