The UK Wolf Conservation Trust is a non-profit organisation based in Berkshire, England. Its aims are to dispel what they regard as myths and misconceptions surrounding

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

, and to support wolves living in the wild elsewhere in Europe. It is currently home to nine wolves: Nuka, Tala, Tundra, Mai, Motomoi, Torak, Massak, Pukak and Sikko.

History

Businessman Roger Palmer visited

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

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 Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...

Erich Klinghammer, founded the UK Wolf Conservation Trust (UKWCT) in 1995.

Activities

The UKWCT has 10 ambassador wolves, 9 of which are socialised wolves split into four 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 in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zool ...

, 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 ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

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 ...

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

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...

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

Ethiopian wolf The Ethiopian wolf (''Canis simensis''), also called the Simien jackal and 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 size and build, ...

, 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 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

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 conservation 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