The Wolves Lament...

Being a wolf is a hard, hard life,
Full of danger and hunger and strife.

Our habitat's gone, no place to hide.
In winter we starve, though we search far and wide.

And when we're hungry, we're not the same.
A dog or cat is now fair game.

Once people we feared, but now we see
That they're the cause of our agony.

Way back in the past we reined supreme.
We knew every hill, every tree, every stream.

We took what we needed, but nothing more.
The balance of nature was part of our lore.

We weren't evil creatures; we had our place.
Our magnificent howl was the mark of our race.

'Twas the cry of freedom, a beautiful thrill
Sent over the land, from the top of a hill.

It gave other creatures a strong sense of pride,
A small price to pay when some of them died.

For when they heard that wild, free call
They knew that the freedom was meant for all.

All that's in the past, alas, in this day
Our strong sense of ownership's slipping away.

Humans now claim every inch of this land,
We're prisoners of fate. A reviled land!

The Indians have vanished. We're not far behind.
This century marks the end of our kind.

There's a price to pay when a species is lost.
Humans one day will pay the great cost.

<h2 style="text-align: left;">By Helen James

 

Although the wolf pictured below is not a resident of Haliburton Forest, I include it here because it's the closest I've been to a wolf in more than 50-years of canoe tripping in places like Algonquin Park, Haliburton Highlands, Quetico, Temagami and Killarney Parks. I took these pictures at Bracebridge, ON, on December 30, 2006, across from the stoplight at the Home Depot store. I was leaving the store parking lot, sitting in my car at the traffic light waiting for it to change to green, when initially I thought that what I was looking at was a German Shepard standing up on the rock face directly in front of me. I soon realized that it was not a dog, but a wolf. I quickly reached behind my seat for my Nikon D200 camera, luckily equipped with a 70-200mm Nikkor lens. Not more than 20 seconds later when I was ready to squeeze-off some pictures, the wolf was gone! I figured correctly that it would likely remain nearby, so I left my car sitting in the middle of the intersection, turned on the 4-way flashers, and as quietly as I could, circled around to the left of where I first spotted the wolf, and quietly climbed up the to the top of the rock face. Slowly, I poked my head up over the top to see if I could spot the wolf. No such luck—it was gone. Noting that I was down-wind from the wolf, I quietly walked around up there looking for its tracks in the occasional bits of snow that had not yet melted (none was seen), and of course, the wolf. I spent about 15 minutes looking around, but saw nothing, so I returned to the base of the rock cut. Upon reaching the bottom, I turned around and looked up to the top where I had been about 30 second earlier, and there was the wolf standing up there watching me very carefully. 

I was careful not to alarm the wolf by raising my camera directly toward it, but away from him/her and I swung it slowly toward the wolf, trying not to frighten it into exiting again. I had the camera in "continuous" shooting mode and squeezed-off a dozen or so pictures before the wolf turned and disappeared.

Once again, I climbed back to the top and carefully stuck my head over the top. The wolf spotted me immediately, turned and took off at a run. I managed to squeeze off a total of 75 pictures before the wolf disappeared behind a pile of wood chips, where it stopped, turned, and took a last look at me for a couple of seconds, then disappeared.

Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre...

Featuring one-way glass windows, the Haliburton Wolf Centre is a building that overlooks the feeding area. of the pack's six-hectare enclosure. The enclosed compound that the wolves live in is six hectares in size and consists of  numerous exhibits, a small cinema theatre and a selection books and magazines about wolves, and tapes and artwork.

Programs and Events at Haliburton Wolf Centre

February 28 In Search of the Elusive Wolf
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Pre-registration is required.
This is a one day snowshoe experience into Wolf Country guided by a Wild Life Biologist, Chris Godwin. Guided by <h2 style="text-align: left;">Chris, you will spend the day on snowshoes exploring some of the remote areas in the forest looking for evidence of wolves in the Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve. Chris has extensive knowledge of the flora and fauna found on Haliburton Forest property. He can provide a keen eye and perspective based on his research on deer predation by wolves and wolf physiology and biology in general. Midway through the day, you will enjoy a campfire lunch in the quiet of the forest.

Place: Meet at Haliburton Forest Base Camp
Fee: $45.00/adult, $35.00/children

*Youths must be able to spend an active day outside. If you require snowshoes, they can be provided for you.

March Break Programs...

March 12 to 16, 2008. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the Ontario March school break, the Haliburton Forest Wolf Center will be offering a variety of activities for the whole family. Starting at 1:30, these afternoons will include fun learning activities including a presentation, display tour, games, puppet show and crafts. Every year we have a special, mysterious storytelling guest! All kids and adults are welcome. Regular admission rates apply.

May 9 - Conference : Celebration of Research Research partners at Haliburton Forest are reporting on their past and proposed research - from forest ecology and climate change to wolves and flying squirrels. Fee: Free

June 30 - July 4. - Youth Day Camp. A week of outdoor activities and excitement for youths aged 8 to 12. Canoing, wilderness travel, large group games, wolf studies, tracking and so much more. Fee: $165.00 per youth.

July 7 - 11. - Youth Wilderness Experience. A week long outdoor leadership residential camp for youths aged 10 - 14. Building on the successes of previous day- and adventure camps, this one week experience will take youths into the wilderness to be exposed to activities such as canoing and kayaking, rock climbing, ropes course, orienteering, astronomy, night hikes etc. This is an exciting opportunity for youths interested in taking their wilderness experience to a new level.

July 25-27 1st Annual Butterfly and Dragonfly Count. This is your opportunity to become a citizen scientist working along side a number of professional naturalists. No experience is necessary as there will be many experts and enthusiast to help you catch and identify these remarkable insects.  Fee: $65/day or $300 for the weekend.

July 28 - August 1st - Youth Adventure Day Camp. A week of outdoor activities and excitement for youths aged 12 to 14. Canoing, wilderness navigation, wolf studies, rock climbing and so much more has been established to build on the skills of past participants or youth that have some experience in the out-of-doors. Optional overnight canoe trip. Fee: $165.00 per youth/ 185.00 incl. over night trip Haliburton overnight stays for snowmobilers.

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