The UK Wolf Conservation Trust is a non-profit organisation based in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, England. The organisation aims are to dispel what they regard as myths and misconceptions surrounding

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

, and to support wolves living in the wild elsewhere in Europe. The organisation is currently home to five wolves: Nuka, Tala, Tundra, Pukak and Sikko.

History

Businessman Roger Palmer visited

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

in the 1970s where he encountered wolves for the first time. Upon his return to the UK he decided to acquire a wolf. Palmer kept wolves into the mid 1990s and, encouraged by ethologist Erich Klinghammer, founded the UK Wolf Conservation Trust (UKWCT) in 1995.

Activities

The UKWCT has 5 ambassador wolves, all of which are socialised wolves split into two packs. The wolves are taken for walks most weekends in the open farmland around the Trust, accompanied by members of the public and UKWCT. The idea is to allow people to see wolves in a different light to the experience seen at most

zoos A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

, which generally don't socialise their animals. Education is a major part of the UKWCT's ethos and they hold regular seminars, with biologists and other speakers giving talks about wolves and current conservation work. The UKWCT's magazine, ''WolfPrint'', attracts contributions from those involved with wolf conservation and reports on current events in the wolf world.

Achievements

In 1998, the UKWCT imported three European wolves from eastern Europe and in 1999 they gave birth to six pups. This was reported to be the first birth of European wolves in the UK since they were driven to extinction in the 18th century. After their relocation to Wildwood in Kent, the imported wolves had several further litters. The UKWCT look after the UK's first Arctic wolves - Massak, Pukak and Sikko. They were imported from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in Canada in March 2011 when a snowstorm destroyed their mother's den, causing her to reject the newborn cubs. The UKWCT were then invited to take these cubs back to the UK, where they have lived ever since. Projects supported by the UKWCT include helping to buy

livestock guardian dog A livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a dog type bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators. Livestock guardian dogs stay with the group of animals they protect as a full-time member of the flock or herd. Their ability to guard t ...

s for Bulgarian shepherds, as well as supporting wolf research and education in the

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

region of Russia and also in Croatia. Support has also been provided for the

Ethiopian wolf The Ethiopian wolf (''Canis simensis''), also called the red jackal, the Simien jackal or Simien fox, is a canine native to the Ethiopian Highlands. In southeastern Ethiopia, it is also known as the horse jackal. It is similar to the coyote in si ...

, for other European projects, and for the

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

and Mexican wolves in the Americas. To date, the Trust has donated over £150,000 to wolf conservation projects worldwide.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Uk Wolf Conservation Trust Wolf organizations Animal welfare organisations based in the United Kingdom Nature conservation organisations based in the United Kingdom Environmental organisations based in England Education in West Berkshire District Organisations based in Berkshire Environmental organizations established in 1995 1995 establishments in England 1995 establishments in the United Kingdom