Mission: Wolf

Mission: Wolf is a remote wolf sanctuary located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Westcliffe, Colorado. It provides lifelong care for captive-born wolves and wolf-dog crosses while using the animals and the sanctuary as a basis for public education. The organization’s central message is that wolves are not suitable household pets and that breeding or purchasing wolf-dog hybrids can create serious welfare and safety problems. It also seeks to challenge the popular “big bad wolf” stereotype and build respect for wolves as wild animals. The sanctuary was established by Idaho-born Kent Weber and Tracy Ane Brooks as a shelter for a small group of timber wolves and wolf-dogs. During the first year, while the founders were constructing a home on the property, they began taking in wolf puppies. Public interest grew through word of mouth, and visitors helped the project expand. At one stage, an adoption-driven influx brought the population to 52 wolves and wolf-dogs. Mission: Wolf subsequently recognized that the number of animals needing placement was much greater than any single sanctuary could responsibly accommodate, and it shifted toward long-term sanctuary care, education, and discouraging further private ownership. The organization accepts wolves that were born in captivity, because captive-born animals generally cannot be returned safely to the wild. The number of residents varies over time; a December 2018 account reported 26 wolves and wolf-dogs living at the sanctuary, while the facility has capacity for up to approximately 40 animals. Mission: Wolf has reported receiving more than 9,000 requests to take in wolves and wolf-dogs since its founding, illustrating the scale of the unwanted-captive-wildlife problem it addresses. Education is delivered at the sanctuary and through the Ambassador Wolf Program. Visitors travel to a high-elevation site reached by a long dirt road, where access and possible animal interaction depend on weather, the animals’ condition, and staff judgment. The traveling program brings educational presentations to schools, universities, nonprofit organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and government groups. Its Wolfhound, a converted full-size Greyhound bus, serves as a mobile base for people, wolves, and equipment while the program travels throughout the United States. Mission: Wolf also emphasizes low-impact living and environmental stewardship. Buildings at the site were constructed by volunteers using donated or recycled materials. The sanctuary has relied heavily on donations, solar power when conditions permit, and a propane generator as backup. It has accepted livestock donations from ranchers as well as hunting scraps and roadkill for feeding. Volunteers are central to both daily operations and administration, with placements ranging from roughly two weeks to one month for short-term volunteers and one to three months for longer-term participants. Feeding practices have included a larger meal twice each week, reflecting the feast-and-famine pattern associated with wild wolves, plus a smaller daily feeding introduced in 2008. The daily portion is used in part to provide supplements and medication and to monitor the animals’ health. Overall, Mission: Wolf combines sanctuary operations, experiential education, volunteer participation, mobile outreach, and sustainability practices rather than functioning as a conventional commercial brand.

Mission: Wolf began as a remote shelter founded by Kent Weber and Tracy Ane Brooks in the Colorado mountains near Westcliffe. The founders initially intended to provide a home for a small number of purebred timber wolves and wolf-dog crosses. While building their own residence during the project’s first year, they took in several wolf puppies. Word of the animals and the unusual setting attracted visitors, and the resulting interest helped the sanctuary grow. The organization experienced a period of rapid expansion associated with efforts to place captive wolves and wolf-dogs. Its population reportedly reached 52 animals at its peak. That experience led the founders to recognize the limits of sanctuary capacity and the scale of the broader problem: captive-born wolves and hybrids are often unsuitable for release, difficult for private owners to manage, and frequently in need of permanent placement. Mission: Wolf consequently developed a stronger emphasis on education and prevention, particularly opposition to breeding wolf-dogs and keeping wolves or wolf-dogs as pets. The sanctuary’s mission is to improve public understanding of wolves and replace the traditional “big bad wolf” image with a more accurate appreciation of their behavior and ecological role. It takes in captive-born animals rather than wild wolves, because animals raised in captivity generally cannot be returned to the wild. Population levels change as animals arrive, die, or otherwise leave the sanctuary; one reported December 2018 count was 26 wolves and wolf-dogs, with the facility able to house up to about 40. Public education takes place at the Colorado site and through a traveling outreach effort called the Ambassador Wolf Program. The program uses the Wolfhound, a converted Greyhound bus designed to carry people, wolves, and supplies. It has traveled across the United States to reach schools, colleges and universities, nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations, and public agencies. At the sanctuary, visitors must make the difficult journey up a roughly 15-mile dirt road to an elevation of about 9,000 feet. Weather can restrict access, and interaction with animals is determined by the wolves’ condition and behavior rather than guaranteed as a visitor attraction. Volunteers have played a major role in the organization’s construction, animal care, administration, and outreach. Buildings were made with donated or recycled materials, and the site has pursued a high degree of self-sufficiency through solar electricity, a propane generator, donated food, and in-kind support. Mission: Wolf has offered both short-term placements of approximately two weeks to one month and longer placements of one to three months. The sanctuary has also developed distinctive feeding and monitoring practices. In 2008 it introduced a small daily feeding intended partly to deliver vitamins and medicines and to provide a regular opportunity to check the animals’ health. Larger feedings continue approximately twice weekly, reflecting a feeding pattern described as closer to the irregular availability of food in the wild. These practices sit within the organization’s wider goal of combining animal care with education, conservation-minded living, and a critique of the exotic-pet trade.

• 2018

  Reported sanctuary population

  [1]Mission: Wolfen.wikipedia.org

  A December 2018 account reported 26 wolves and wolf-dogs living at Mission: Wolf.

• 2008

  Daily feeding introduced

  [1]Mission: Wolfen.wikipedia.org

  A small daily feeding was added for supplements, medication, and health checks alongside larger feedings held twice a week.

• Sanctuary founded near Westcliffe

  [1]Mission: Wolfen.wikipedia.org

  Kent Weber and Tracy Ane Brooks established Mission: Wolf as a remote shelter for captive timber wolves and wolf-dog crosses.

• Early expansion through public interest

  [1]Mission: Wolfen.wikipedia.org

  Visitors and word-of-mouth support helped the site expand after the founders began taking in wolf puppies during construction of the property.

• Population reaches reported peak of 52 animals

  [1]Mission: Wolfen.wikipedia.org

  Mission: Wolf’s population grew to 52 wolves and wolf-dogs during an intensive period of intake and adoption activity, after which the organization recognized the limits of its capacity.

Nonprofit-style wildlife sanctuary and education organization advocating responsible wolf conservation, captive-animal welfare, and opposition to keeping wolves or wolf-dog crosses as pets.

• Wildlife sanctuary

  Mission: Wolf Sanctuary

  The organization’s core operation is a permanent sanctuary for wolves and wolf-dog crosses born in captivity. It provides housing, feeding, veterinary support, behavioral management, and public education rather than preparing the animals for commercial sale or release. Resident numbers vary, and the sanctuary has historically housed up to approximately 40 animals.

• Mobile wildlife education

  Ambassador Wolf Program

  The Ambassador Wolf Program takes educational presentations and selected ambassador animals to audiences across the United States. It has served schools, universities, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, and government groups. The program uses the Wolfhound, a converted full-size Greyhound bus adapted to carry people, wolves, and related supplies.

• Volunteer service

  Volunteer Program

  Mission: Wolf offers short-term and longer-term volunteer placements supporting sanctuary work, construction, administration, animal care, and educational activities. The organization has relied substantially on volunteers, including for much of its administrative and physical infrastructure.

• Public education

  Sanctuary Visits and Experiential Education

  Visitors may travel to the high-elevation sanctuary for education about wolves and captive wildlife. There is no stated admission fee; donations and in-kind contributions are welcomed. Access is affected by the remote dirt road, weather, and animal welfare considerations, and direct interaction is not guaranteed.

• 2008

  Add daily health-monitoring feedOther

  Background

  The sanctuary used larger feedings approximately twice a week, but needed a practical way to administer supplements and medicines and observe the animals regularly.

  Action taken

  Mission: Wolf introduced a smaller daily portion while retaining the larger twice-weekly feeding schedule.

  Aftermath

  The daily feed became part of routine health monitoring, while the larger feed continued to reflect an irregular feeding pattern associated with wild wolves.

  Source

• Shift from adoption-driven intake toward education and responsible sanctuary capacityStrategy

  Background

  Mission: Wolf’s population reportedly reached 52 animals during a period of intense intake and adoption activity, while requests for placement continued to exceed what one sanctuary could accommodate.

  Action taken

  The organization emphasized permanent care for captive-born animals, public education, and discouraging the breeding or private ownership of wolves and wolf-dog crosses.

  Aftermath

  Mission: Wolf became more strongly identified with prevention and education as well as sanctuary care, while continuing to accept suitable captive-born animals when capacity allowed.

  Source

1. 1Mission: Wolfen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Mission: Wolf official websitemissionwolf.org