Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
Jim Stein and Becky Mace began rescuing wolves and founded the Lakota Wolf Preserve in Colombia, New Jersey in the late 1990s.
They have raised all the wolves that form the preserve’s four different packs. There are British Columbian, Timber and Arctic wolves roaming the 10-acre wooded preserve.
I visited the preserve with Take a Hike NJ for a group tour. We checked in at the Camp Taylor Campground and then began the half-mile hike up to the preserve.
There is a shuttle available, but since we are a hiking group, we figured we could manage the walk.
Once we got to the top, Jim told us about the wolves that lived there while he threw them some treats so we could see them.
At one point, he and Becky howled and the packs all answered the call, which you can hear on the video below.
After visiting the wolves, we moved over to the bobcat enclosure where Becky talked about the bobcat and the lynx who live there.
They are rescues from various situations. Sienna, the juvenile bobcat stole the show
Then finally we stopped at the fox enclosure. There are two foxes here, but we didn’t linger long. They’d recently been traumatized by some boy scouts and were shy of the crowd.
Location: 89 Mt Pleasant Rd, Columbia, NJ 07832
Designation: Wildlife Refuge
Date of my visit: 2/2/2020
Love this! They’re all so beautiful!
They are! Glad you enjoyed my post 💖
Beautiful animals.
They are! Thanks!
Loved seeing this. I did not know about this sanctuary. Before COVID we visited a sanctuary in Naples Florida. Wolves are such interesting creatures. Here’s my post in case you are interested: https://maximizingluxurytravel.com/2020/02/29/dancing-with-wolves-not/
Nice! There is also a wolf-dog sanctuary in South Jersey where you can pet the animals. I haven’t made it down there yet.
Thanks for sharing T. That is one sound you do not want to here when hiking through the woods. Stay well. Allan
True! 🙂
Love this place. Was last here in February! Great shots.
Thanks!
Wow, what an amazing looking experience! That silver fox is just darling.
The one with the sweet face is a rescue they integrated into the pack. She has some sort of birth defect and is missing part of her brain (?!)
It’s so great when there’s a rescue place for wild animals.
Yes!
Wonderful pics, what beautiful animals.
Thanks!
Heh. Played the wolf howls over the big speakers and you should see the look on Max the Maltese’s face. It was either “listen to the call of my people” or “get me out of here NOW!”
Lol, Trudy the Catahoula was quite intrigued by the video. Lily the elderly cockapoo was bored AF.😂
What a great sanctuary; such beautiful animals. I’d love to see it, if only. I did see wolves many years back in The Bronx zoo. But, so lovely to see them in the preserve (we say reserve in New Zealand). Vivienne
Thanks! I’ve heard both terms used in the US, not sure what the distinction is.
As far as I can remember, I’ve never seen animals like these. So first – thank you!
The wolves look almost majestic. Now it is clearer to me why they kept fascinating people throughout time.
Loved the cat you singled out 🙂
They are beautiful! Thanks for reading and commenting 😊
Wonderful photos; thank you! I live where wolves have re-established themselves but are still under threat from those who fear and misunderstand their place in the ecosystem. I count myself lucky to have had a close yet benign and lovely encounter with one several years ago in the national forest nearby, and hope to have more in the future. I love their howls. Nothing to fear if you give them space and respect.
Cool! Thanks for reading and commenting 😊
A wolf’s tail indeed
😀
Amazing!
Thanks 😊
Nice photos of beautiful animals.
Thanks 😊
Beautiful animals.
Thanks for reading and commenting 😊
Places like this are amazing– I’m so glad they exist. Sorry to hear that the poor foxes were traumatized, though.
Yes, shame on those Boy Scouts…hope they didn’t earn a badge for that trip
Definitely. And a class on interacting with animals wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.
Wow. I love this!!
Glad you enjoyed it 😊