Wolf Park to celebrate three decades

Wolf Park to celebrate three decades

Weekend includes talks, tours, displays

By Bob Scott, Journal and Courier

BATTLE GROUND — Wolf Park is gearing up for this weekend’s 30th
anniversary celebration.

The members-only event includes nationally known speakers, tours of Wolf
Park, a 30-year retrospective display featuring a wolf family tree and a
visit from Arctic wolves. People can become members of the park before
participating in the celebration.

Erich Klinghammer started Wolf Park in 1972 on land donated by his family.
The 75-acre park is dedicated to gray wolf research.

“It’s amazing that many local people have never been to Wolf Park,” said
general manager Amanda Shaad. “They have read about it in the newspaper or
seen it on television, but they don’t drop by.

“Many schoolchildren visit here, but their parents haven’t. This place has
changed a lot in recent years.”

Shaad and her staff have been working feverishly the past few weeks to
finish a new trail loop that includes a 130-foot bridge that spans a pond
in the bison pasture.

The park also has a bison herd, foxes, a lone coyote named “Bill,” and
seven species of frogs that live in a 3-acre pond. During the May to
November season, wolves interact with the bison herd.

For volunteer Todd Satterfield of Lafayette, helping at Wolf Park is an
educational experience.

“This is such a cool place,” he said. “I came here a few times with my
family and decided to volunteer.

“I learn something each time I come here.”

An early-week visit at feeding time was a nature lesson. The main pack of
six wolves and a separate group of 11 other wolves ate parts of a roadkill
whitetail deer and a calf that had died shortly after birth.

Crunching through bone, sinew and hide was no problem for the wolves. They
ate every part of the animals, including the calf’s hairy coat.

“That is like brushing their teeth,” Shaad said. “Chewing carrion promotes
muscle tone in the jaws.”

A walk on the trail loop goes past a “retirement home” for wolves who have
grown old or have been driven off by the main pack.

Four foxes lay beneath a cooling shade tree near the trail. Basil, a
nearly pure white male fox, excitedly twitched his bushy tail as Shaad
called his name. With temperatures in the low 80s, Basil refused to stand
up. A tale twitch would have to do.

The 14-member bison herd grew by one last Friday morning when a calf was
born during a thunderstorm. Shaad said that the unnamed calf will probably
be called “Storm,” although Thor, the god of thunder, is a close second.

Shaad, who has worked at Wolf Park for seven years, said she is eager to
get to work each morning.

“There is always something new every day,” she said. “I enjoy watching the
animals grow and to watch the social dynamics.

“I also enjoy being able to create a better environment for the visitors
to Wolf Park.”

If you go

Wolf Park will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Saturday and Sunday for
members only.

Memberships, available at the door, cost $25 for individuals, $40 for
families and $50 for a group up to 12 people.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, there will be several speakers,
including
Doug Smith, the director of the Yellowstone Park wolf project. O.J.
Volkman of Wolfwood Ranch will bring his arctic wolves. Self-guided tours
also will be held, along with an auction.

Howl Night will be held from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, there will be self-guided tours and more
guest speakers. A wolf-bison demonstration is scheduled for 4-6 p.m.
Sunday.

Wolf Park is open May 1 to Nov. 30, Tuesday through Sunday from 1-5 p.m.
Members are admitted free. From Tuesday through Saturday and Howl Night,
the admission is free for ages 1-5, $3 for ages 6-13 and $5 for ages 14
and over. On Sunday, ages 1-5 are free, ages 6-13 is $3 and ages 14 and
over, $6.

Howl Night is year-round at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and at 7:30 p.m. Friday
and Saturday from May to November (weather permitting).

The wolf-bison demonstration is held on Sundays at 1 p.m. from May through
November.

Wolf Park is north of Battle Ground. Go to the downtown area and follow
the signs.

For more information, 567-2265, e-mail wolfpark@wolfpark.org or visit the
Web site: www.wolfpark.org

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