Photos by Melissa Leasia (left) and Lisa Wald (right).

Evergreen Nature Center recently welcomed an adult female taxidermy wolf mount to the mammal room. We know very little about her history other than that she once lived in Alaska. Most recently she was on exhibit at W.O.L.F. Sanctuary (wolfsanctuary.com), northwest of Ft. Collins. Delia Malone, a member of the Roaring Fork Audubon chapter, learned that W.O.L.F. Sanctuary needed to rehome the wolf and knew that Evergreen Audubon had just moved to a new building. Delia asked Evergreen board member JoAnn Hackos if she thought we would like to take possession of the wolf and JoAnn brought the idea to the board. The vote was unanimous and board members Chris and Holly Marr drove to W.O.L.F. Sanctuary and brought her to her new home. 

Even though wolves aren’t found in our Bear Creek watershed, we are delighted to have her. Her exhibit may well be the only opportunity many of our visitors will ever have to see a wolf up close. Visitors will be able to compare her to our coyote mount (coyotes may be mistaken for wolves in the wild), and will learn about wolf natural history. She is also sure to prompt thoughtful conversations about the pros and cons of wolf reintroduction in Colorado.

Speaking of reintroduction, Jake Sonberg, a District Wildlife Manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, joined us for our informal August chapter meeting.  Among other things, he updated chapter members on the progress of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction and brought materials about living with wolves and protecting livestock from wolf predation. These materials are available at the nature center and online at the CPW website.

We are in the process of planning an interpretive exhibit around our wolf but in the meantime, she needs a name. If you would like to suggest one, please stop by the nature center and fill out a nomination form in the mammal room. We will take suggestions until we find the perfect name for her. Thank you to W.O.L.F. Sanctuary, Delia, JoAnn, Holly, and Chris for helping us acquire this magnificent creature.