The call of the wild -- up close

[Photo: Monty Sloan] Marion and Maya romp in the snow at Wolf Park, an unusual research and educational park that is home to several packs.

By STEVE WRIGHT and HEIDI JOHNSON-WRIGHT

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 12, 2000

Wolf Park lets humans observe wolves in packs and listen to their feral howls.

BATTLE GROUND, Ind. -- As one approaches this hamlet, the land spreads out majestically, dotted with farms and stretches of woodland and meadows. It is a little like stepping back in time to when the Midwest was rugged and only agrarian, a time when there was no need to display captive wolves because they were out there running wild.

Now there is Wolf Park, a humble, rustic place where catching a glimpse of a couple of wolves across a large pond is a bit surreal. Soon the animals come loping around the pond to the area where the humans are clustered. The wolves seem curious, intelligent and more gregarious than we had envisioned.

The animals are wiry, agile. Their markings range from white with cream-colored splotches to jet black, which sets off their piercing green eyes.

There are 20 gray wolves at the 75-acre Wolf Park in northwestern Indiana, a dozen miles from Lafayette and 130 miles from Chicago. Since 1972, the nonprofit education and research center has studied reproductive, inter-pack social and other wolf behaviors.

Wolf Park is open to the public. What visitors are likely to notice quickly are the personality traits of the animals: Some take center stage and dominate while others hang back, observing. They are surprisingly playful.

The wolves are separated into packs kept apart by double rows of chain-link fence. Most visitors watch feedings and educational programs from a viewing area outside the fencing. Visitors who adopt a wolf for a $125-a-year donation get to go through a locked gate to get much closer.

It is clear the wolves are pleased to interact with humans, greeting them with face licks, but visitors are also likely to be startled by a feral, hair-raising group howl. Even as we sat mesmerized by the rising chorus of a midday howl, we listened to a guide's informative talk. She said the wolves:

Weigh 75 to 100 pounds. Males weigh more than females. Wolves lose some insulating fat and shed much of their fur in the summer.

Visitors can come face to muzzle with wolves at Wolf Park, near West Lafayette, Ind.

Do not get to be leader of the pack purely based on size. Aggression, leadership and sometimes luck seem to play just as big a role in determining who will be the alpha male and female of a given pack.

Live 12 to 14 years at Wolf Park. Some have lived as long as 17 years. Wolves in the wild live six to eight years.

Are meat-eating predators. Wolf Park's gray wolves eat mostly deer in the form of road kill brought to the preserve.

Have jaw muscles that are twice as powerful as those of German shepherd dogs. Wolves have 42 teeth.

The largest pack in Wolf Park roams a nearly 7-acre enclosure that has rolling grasslands and a pond. The enclosure accommodates wolf-viewing with a raised outdoor seating area and a climate-controlled, glass-enclosed complex that also is elevated and equipped with telescopes.

The seven-wolf main pack -- with members named Seneca, Miska and Tristan -- lives near the entrance to Wolf Park. The area also has an enclosure that is home to four red foxes.

Visitors can also stroll a quarter-mile past the main area on an escorted walking tour of the "retirement" section, where animals who can no longer live in the main pack, as well as some wolves from zoos who needed new homes, now live. This section, known as East Lake, is home to Orca, a former alpha male who was removed from the main pack when he severely injured his back in 1997.

Wolf Park's Eastlake area also is home to Wild Bill, a coyote, and a small herd of bison, which are often included in the presentations. Each Sunday, the wolves are released into the 15-member bison herd's pasture. The demonstration shows how wolves hunt in packs and how the bison take defensive measures. Staffers make sure that neither species is injured during the 20-minute demonstration.

The attitude of the Wolf Park staff is respectful and nurturing of the wild creatures. The preserve takes a conservationist approach with an emphasis on educating the public, not pandering to the voyeuristic.

If you go:

Wolf Park's street address in Battle Ground, Ind., is 4012 E 800 North. Call (765) 567-2265. The Web site is http://www.wolfpark.org.

The park is open to the general public 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (closed Mondays), May 1-Dec. 1. It also is open at 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays year-round for Howl Night programs. Howl Night, which features the pack howling and programs that explain why wolves howl, is at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays May 1-Dec. 1.

The entrance fee is $4 ($5 for Sundays when the wolf-bison demonstrations take place) for 14 and older. Children 6-13 are $3, and admission is free for everyone 5 and under.

Wolf Park is moderately wheelchair-accessible. The grass parking lot has one accessible space, and one of the two portable restrooms is ramped and wide enough for a wheelchair. The gift shop and enclosed observation area are ramped. The outdoor fixed seating area is not accessible, but there is room next to the bleachers for wheelchair users to roll up for a view of the wolves. There are now paved pathways through the grounds.

Steve Wright and Heidi Johnson-Wright are freelance writers living in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

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